I  i^trntmiyv 


I 


■ 


I 


M 


■ 


iREADERS  OX  COMMERCE  &INDUST!j|^ 

W  THE 


D  IS  FED 


Fl^NliilEOECJE  CAR  PEN 


■ 


h 


mw/i 


11 

IPfii 


V...  ^"Mu^ 


•<c 


.H^' 


♦♦♦Hum***************' 


1 1  H^R  a'  j  I 
i  ■    V.I, 


■■HI  UffllMfe^^^-    ^  illlffit 


X. 


*»**»**»***** 


JHfll 


'«>t»l»l>MM»' 


agaiEsLjasziJ 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


Class 


*"■ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/foodshowworldiOOcarprich 


READERS  ON  COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY 


HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 


BY 


FRANK   GEORGE    CARPENTER 

AUTHOR     OF     CARPENTER'S     GEOGRAPHICAL     READERS 


OFTHE 

university' 

OF 
NEW  YORK  •  CINCINNATI  .  CHICAGO 

AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY 


Carpenter's  Geographical  Readers 

NORTH  AMERICA         ....  60  cents 

SOUTH  AMERICA         ....  60  cents 

EUROPE 70  cents 

ASIA 60  cents 

AUSTRALIA,    OUR   COLONIES,  AND 

OTHER  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SEA     .  60  cents 

AFRICA 60  cents 

These  Readers  are  not  dry  compilations  from  other  books,  but 
comprise  vivid  descriptions  of  the  author's  personal  observations. 


*fcto 


Copyright,  1907,  by 
Frank  G.  Carpenter. 


Carp.  World  is  Fed. 


PREFACE 

This  book  on  Foods  is  the  first  of  a  series  upon  the  great 
industries  of  the  world.  Its  purpose  is  to  give  the  children 
a  knowledge  of  the  production  and  preparation  of  foods, 
and  to  show  how  civilization  and  commerce  grew  from 
man's  need  of  foods  and  the  exchange  of  foods  between 
the  different  nations  of  the  earth. 

The  author  takes  the  children  on.  personally  conducted 
tours  to  the  great  food  centers  of  the  world,  to  the  markets 
of  exchange,  to  the  factories,  the  farms,  the  forests,  and 
the  seas. 

Together  they  visit  the  great  wheat  fields  of  our  own 
and  other  lands.  They  follow  the  grain  to  the  mills  and 
from  the  mills  to  the  markets.  They  go  through  the  corn 
belt  of  the  United  States  and  learn  the  size  and  value  of 
our  corn  crop.  They  visit  the  rice  countries  of  the  world 
and  learn  how  this  grain,  which  forms  the  bread  of  a  large 
part  of  the  human  race,  is  grown  and  prepared  for  the 
market. 

They  go  to  a  western  cattle  ranch  and  aid  the  cowboys 
in  a  "round  up."  They  follow  the  cattle  to  a  great  pack- 
ing center,  where  they  inspect  the  stock  yards  and  observe 
the  killing  and  shipping.  They  also  learn  how  pork  is 
packed  for  shipment  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  They  live 
for  a  time  with  the  shepherds  in  Australia  and  New  Zea- 
land, and  visit  the  factories  to  observe  the  handling  and 
freezing  of  mutton. 

Visits  are  paid  to  dairy  countries,  and  the  manufacture 
of  butter  and  cheese  is  explained.  The  children  go  to  the 
poultry  yards  of  the  world  and  are  shown  how  chickens, 

165860 


4  PREFACE 

ducks,  geese,  and  turkeys  are  reared,  and  what  an  impor- 
tant part  of  our  national  income  our  egg  industry  produces. 

They  are  taken  with  the  fishermen  of  different  lands  to 
the  great  fishing  grounds  to  observe  how  salmon  and  other 
finny  creatures  are  caught  and  prepared  for  the  markets. 

Several  interesting  trips  are  taken  to  the  vegetable 
gardens  of  the  world,  and  the  children  learn  that  many 
vegetables  have  histories  and  have  long  held  important 
places  in  furnishing  food  for  man. 

Journeys  are  made  to  orchards  and  vineyards  when 
apples,  peaches,  berries,  oranges,  pineapples,  bananas,  and 
grapes  are  ripe,  and  the  luscious  fruit  is  picked  and  eaten 
fresh  from  the  trees  and  vines.  Also  tours  are  made  to 
the  lands  of  the  olive,  date,  and  fig,  and  the  children  taste 
the  many  other  curious  fruits  of  tropical  lands. 

With  the  author  they  take  passage  on  a  steamer  at  New 
York  and  sail  to  the  warm  coffee  lands  of  Brazil.  Here 
they  watch  the  picking  of  the  coffee  beans  and  the  differ- 
ent processes  used  in  the  preparation  of  the  coffee  of  com- 
merce. They  then  make  a  flying  trip  to  Japan  to  see  how 
tea  is  picked,  dried,  and  boxed  for  shipment. 

A  peep  is  next  taken  into  the  world's  big  sugar  bowl, 
and  the  children  learn  how  the  chief  commercial  sugars 
are  made  from  beets  or  sugar  cane. 

This  Food  Reader  is,  to  a  large  extent,  the  result  of  the 
personal  observations  of  the  author.  Many  of  the  descrip- 
tions were  written  on  the  ground,  and  great  care  has  been 
taken  to  make  every  part  of  it  as  accurate  and  up  to  date 
as  possible. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I.    Introduction 

2.   The  Bread  of  the  World  —  Wheat 

3.    How  our  Wheat  is  Marketed          .... 

4.    The  Wheat  of  Other  Lands 

5.    Flour     

6.    The  Worlds  Great  Corn  Patch      .... 

7.    Rice 

8.    Other  Grains  which  Feed  Millions 

9.    On  a  Western  Cattle  Ranch  .... 

10.    A  Visit  to  a  Great  Packing  Center 

1 1 .    Hogs  and  Pork  Packing         .... 

12.    Mutton          ....... 

13.    Milk,  Butter,  and  Cheese        .... 

14.    Dairying  in  Other  Lands        .... 

15.    Poultry  —  Chickens,  Ducks,  Geese,  and  Turkeys 

16.   Wild  Animals  used  as  Food  .... 

17.    Rabbits,  Squirrels,  and  Game  Birds 

18.    Fish  in  General 

19.    Salmon 

20.    Oysters          .         .         .         . 

21.    Lobsters,  Shrimps,  Crabs,  and  Other  Shellfish 

22.    Sea  Food  of  Other  Lands      .... 

23.    Turtles,  Frogs,  Snails,  and  Lizards 

24.   Vegetables 

25.    Potatoes 

26.    Important  Vegetables  used  for  Food 

27.    In  the  Gardens  of  Other  Lands      .... 

28.   Odd  Foods  from  Trees  and  Vines 

5 

29. 

30. 

3'- 

32- 

33- 
34*. 

35- 
36. 
37- 
38. 

39- 
40. 

.41- 
42. 

43- 
44. 

45- 
46. 

47- 
48. 


1    CONTENTS 

TER                                                                                                                  <                                                                                  pAGE 

General  View  of  our  Fruit  Industry 225 

Apples 

.     229 

Peaches         

•     237 

Apricots,  Pears,  Quinces,  Cherries,  and  Plums 

243 

Grapes 

248 

Berries  .         .         . 

255 

Oranges,  Lemons,  Limes,  Pomelos,  Citron,  etc. 

259 

Pineapples  and  Bananas         .... 

267 

Olives  and  Vegetable  Oils      .... 

274 

Dates  and  Figs      ...... 

281 

Some  Other  Tropical  Fruits  .... 

287 

Nuts 

290 

Coffee 

297 

Tea 

308 

Cacao  —  Chocolate  and  Cocoa        .... 

317 

Tobacco        ........ 

323 

Where  the  Sugar  Cane  Grows        .... 

328 

Beet  Sugar,  Maple  Sugar,  and  Honey    . 

338 

Salt       .........'. 

345 

Spices  and  Other  Flavoring  Plants 

352 

FOODS:  OR  HOW  THE  WORLD 
IS    FED 

i.     INTRODUCTION 

WE  start  to-day  upon  a  series  of  travels  which  will  take 
us  all  over  the  earth.  Our  object  is  to  learn  about 
the  foods  of  the  world  and  how  they  are  used  by  man.  In 
our  journeys  we  shall  visit  the  farms  of  many  nations  and 
see  how  the  crops  are  raised.  We  shall  go  into  the  orchards 
and  pick  apples,  oranges,  and  other  fruits  fresh  from  the 
trees.  We  shall  penetrate  the  wilds  to  hunt  the  game 
which  man  eats  ;  and  we  shall  even  look  into  the  seas 
and  study  the  fish,  oysters,  and  other  animals  which  live 
under  the  water. 

As  we  go  on  with  our  travels,  we  shall  see  ships  and  cars 
carrying  food  from  place  to  place ;  and,  in  the  markets, 
we  shall  watch  the  exchanges  of  one  thing  for  another. 
This  will  show  us  the  commerce  of  the  world  as  it  affects 
our  eating;  while  the  work  on  the  farms  and  in  the 
orchards  and  the  factories  will  show  us  the  great  indus- 
tries which  have  grown  up  in  raising  food  and  preparing 
it  for  use.  Indeed,  all  our  journeys  are  to  be  along  the 
lines  of  industry  and  commerce.  They  will  deal  with  the 
world  at  work  and  the  world  of  trade. 

We  all  know  that  man  is  an  animal,  and,  whenever  we 
miss  our  meals,  we  realize  that  he  is  a  hungry  animal.     Men 

7 


8  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

seldom  work  except  to  satisfy  their  wants  ;  and  their  wants 
along  food  lines  are  such  that  they  devote  the  greater  part 
of  their  lives  to  supplying  them.  Indeed,  the  story  of  the 
growth  of  the  easier  ways  of  satisfying  these  wants  forms  a 
large  part  of  the  history  of  civilization.  Ages  ago  men  ate 
their  food  raw.  If  they  killed  a  wild  animal,  they  tore  it  to 
pieces  and  devoured  it.  Some  savage  tribes  do  this  to-day. 
The  Australian  aborigines,  for  instance,  know  but  little 
about  cooking,  and  a  part  of  their  food  is  worms,  which 
they  dig  from  the  trees  and  eat  raw.  The  Abyssinians 
eat  raw  meat,  and  there  are  other  Africans  who  live 
largely  upon  roots,  wild  vegetables,  and  fruit.  Some  of 
these  people  are  not  much  better  than  the  savages  of 
the  distant  past. 

It  was  some  time  before  men  learned  that  food  is  better 
when  cooked.  How  they  found  out  we  do  not  know. 
It  may  have  been  like  the  discovery  of  roast  pig  by  Bo-bo, 
the  Chinese  boy,  as  told  by  Charles  Lamb.  Bo-bo  was  the 
son  of  the  swineherd,  Ho-ti,  and,  as  you  may  remember,  he 
accidentally  set  fire  to  his  father's  house,  in  which  some  little 
pigs  were  kept.  The  house  burned  to  the  ground,  and 
the  pigs  were  roasted.  Bo-bo  felt  one  of  the  sizzling  car- 
casses to  see  if  it  might  not  still  have  life  ;  and,  as  it  burned 
his  fingers,  he  thrust  them  into  his  mouth.  His  pain  turned 
to  delight  as  he  got  his  first  taste  of  the  juicy  cracklings 
which  adhered  to  them.  He  told  Ho-ti,  and,  as  the  story 
goes,  the  two  burned  down  house  after  house  to  get  more 
roast  pig.  They  were  arrested,  and  at  their  trial  some  of 
the  roast  was  given  to  the  judge.  A  few  days  later  the 
judge,  having  bought  some  little  pigs  of  a  neighbor,  burned 
his  own  house.    Others  did  likewise,  until  a  sage  discovered 


INTRODUCTION  9 

that  a  pig  could  be  roasted  on  an  ordinary  fire,  and  after 
this,  roasting  became  common  throughout  the  nation. 

However  true  this  story  may  be,  we  know  that  roasting 
was  the  first  stage  of  food  preparation,  for  it  is  common 
among  all  savage  tribes.  The  next  discovery  was  proba- 
bly baking.  Holes  were  made  in  the  ground  and  lined 
with  stones.  Fire  was  then  built,  and  when  the  stones 
were  red-hot,  the  food,  wrapped  in  leaves  or  skins,  was 
there  covered  up  to  be  cooked.  Such  bake  ovens  are 
common  to-day  in  the  islands  of  the  South  Seas,  and 
dressed  pig  or  other  animals  are  thus  deliciously  cooked. 

The  savages  of  Africa  cook  hippopotamus  and  elephant 
meat  in  stone-lined  pits  made  red-hot  by  fire ;  and  a  deli- 
cious morsel  to  them  is  an  elephant's  foot  placed  in  such  a 
pit  and  allowed  to  remain  until  done. 

Boiling  and  steaming  food  came  later.  Our  Indians 
sometimes  cooked  in  this  way,  and  one  tribe  of  them,  the 
Assiniboins,  were  known  as  the  stone  boilers,  because  they 
boiled  their  food  with  red-hot  stones.  Having  killed  a 
buffalo,  they  took  off  its  skin  and  so  fitted  it  into  a  hole  in 
the  ground  that  it  was  perfectly  tight.  They  next  poured 
water  into  the  skin  and  placed  pieces  of  the  buffalo  meat 
within  it.  Then,  having  made  a  fire  near  by,  they  heated 
great  stones  red-hot  and  tumbled  them  into  the  water.  In 
time  the  water  boiled,  and  the  meat  was  cooked. 

There  are  places  on  the  earth  where  nature  herself  fur- 
nishes plenty  of  boiling  water  and  steam.  The  Yellowstone 
Park,  for  instance,  has  boiling  springs  in  which  one  can  place 
a  basket  of  eggs,  and  have  them  cooked  hard  or  soft,  accord- 
ing to  the  time  they  are  left  in,  and  into  which  one  can  drop 
fish  and  bring  them  out  ready  to  eat.     In  the  Hot  Springs 


IO 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD    IS   FED 


region  of  New  Zealand  there  are  pools  of  water  which  are 
always  boiling,  and  also  many  wide  cracks  where  the  steam 
pours  forth  from  the  ground.  Here  Mother  Earth  does 
the  cooking.  The  natives  have  steaming  boxes  with  only 
network  of  ropes  for  a  bottom.     They  put  the  food  into 


Here  Mother  Earth  does  the  cooking. 


the  boxes  and  set  them  over  the  steam  holes  or  cracks.  In 
a  short  time  the  food  is  cooked  quite  as  well  as  in  our  own 
steamers. 

In  one  way  or  another,  as  time  went  on,  the  people  of 
the  world  learned  more  about  cooking.  Their  desire  for 
different  kinds  of  food  and  more  food  led  them  to  trade 
with  each  other.  Each  learned  what  the  others  had  dis- 
covered as  to  food  getting,  food  keeping,  and  food  manu- 
facturing. They  began  to  exchange  foods ;  and  through 
such  exchanges,  grew  up  what  we  call  ^civilization  and 
especially  commerce. 

Our   food   now   comes    from    all    parts    of    the   world, 


INTRODUCTION  1 1 

and  our  dinner  tables  have  articles  upon  them  which 
were  brought  thousands  of  miles  for  our  use.  The  tea 
we  drank  to-day  may  have  been  picked  by  a  Chinese 
boy  or  girl  last  year,  and  the  sugar  in  it  may  have  come 
from  cane  raised  in  Cuba.  The  coffee  was  grown  on 
bushes  in  southern  Brazil,  and,  if  we  could  follow  the 
pepper  back  to  its  home,  we  might  find  half-naked  little 
brown  boys  of  Java  or  Sumatra  playing  among  the  vines 
on  which  it  grew.  If  the  loaf  of  bread  could  tell  its  story, 
it  might  speak  of  vast  fields  of  golden  wheat  beyond  the 
Great  Lakes ;  and  the  roast  beef,  only  a  few  weeks  ago, 
was  part  of  an  animal  which  galloped  over  the  Texas 
prairies,  with  a  cowboy  behind  it. 

Every  meal  we  eat,  in  fact,  has  been  brought  to  us  from 
many  parts  of  the  earth,  and  the  people  who  furnished  it 
are  probably  eating  some  things  supplied  by  us.  In  this 
way  the  whole  world  is  working  for  you  and  me,  and  we, 
in  turn,  are  working  for  every  nation  which  buys  the  things 
we  make  or  raise  to  sell. 

It  is  thus  through  commerce  that  food  is  carried  all  over 
the  world,  from  the  places  where  each  kind  can  be  raised 
the  cheapest,  and  sold  for  money  in  exchange.  As  we 
proceed  with  our  travels,  we  shall  see  that  almost  every 
locality  produces  some  things  better  than  others,  so  that  a 
continual  exchanging  goes  on,  and  cars  and  ships  are  always 
moving  this  way  and  that,  carrying  food  products  from 
country  to  country,  and  from  place  to  place. 

We  ship  quantities  of  food  abroad  every  year  and  com- 
pete in  the  markets  of  the  world  with  all  other  nations 
which  have  similar  things  to  sell.  In  our  travels  we  must 
study  this  globe  as  a  workshop  and  as  a  vast  retail  store. 


12  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

We  must  learn  not  only  what  we  ourselves  produce  to  eat 
and  sell,  but  also  what  other  nations  raise  and  what  they 
have  to  sell  in  competition  with  us.  We  want  to  know 
which  nations  are  our  chief  customers  and  what  they  send 
back  to  us  in  money  or  goods  in  exchange. 

2.  THE  BREAD  OF  THE  WORLD  — WHEAT 

BREAD  is  used  more  than  any  other  food  by  civilized 
man.  The  Bible  calls  it  the  staff  of  life ;  and  raising 
the  grains  which  supply  it  is  one  of  the  world's  chief  indus- 
tries. The  principal  grains  are  wheat,  corn,  oats,  rye,  bar- 
ley, and  rice.  In  our  country  more  wheat  and  corn  are 
used  than  any  of  the  other  grains.  In  some  parts  of 
Europe  the  people  eat  a  black  bread  made  of  rye,  and  in 
others  they  live  largely  upon  ground  oats.  In  Asia  and 
Africa  some  of  the  natives  make  bread  of  millet  and  in 
some  countries  rice  forms  the  chief  food,  being  cooked 
whole,  or  ground  to  a  flour  for  bread  or  cake. 

All  these  grains  are  the  seeds  of  different  grasses.  They 
are  called  cereals,  from  Ceres,  who  was  worshiped  by  the 
Romans  as  the  goddess  of  the  harvest.  Each  grain  grows 
best  in  certain  places  and  climates.  Some  grains  thrive 
better  in  the  United  States  than  anywhere  else.  We  raise 
more  wheat  than  any  other  nation  and  more  corn  than  all 
the  rest  of  the  world  put  together.  Our  total  crop  of 
cereals  for  one  year  sometimes  weighs  ninety  million  tons 
and  is  worth  fifteen  hundred  million  dollars.  The  product 
is  so  enormous  that  we  cannot  realize  it. 

Let  us  take  our  pencils  and  see  what  it  would  amount 


THE  BREAD  OF  THE   WORLD  — WHEAT 


13 


to  if  it  were  loaded  upon  freight  cars,  joined  end  to  end  in 
one  long  train.  We  shall  suppose  that  each  car  holds 
twenty  tons,  and  that  it  will  take  forty  feet  of  space  on 
the  track.  Dividing  the 
ninety  million  tons  by 
twenty  gives  us  four  and 
a  half  million,  the  num- 
ber of  cars  required  to 
carry  the  grain ;  and  mul- 
tiplying that  number  by 
forty,  the  number  of  feet 
to  each  car,  shows  us 
that  the  train  would 
reach  to  a  distance  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty 
million  feet  from  its 
starting  point.  Now  five 
thousand  two  hundred 
and  eighty  feet  make  a 
mile ;  and,  dividing  by 
that,  we  find  that  our 
train  of  grain  would  have 
to  be  more  than  thirty- 
four  thousand  miles  long, 
or  long  enough  to  reach 
around  the  earth  at  the 
Equator  and  leave 
enough  cars  over  to  fill  three  continuous  tracks  from  New 
York  to  San  Francisco. 

A  large  part  of  such  a  train  would  be  loaded  with  wheat, 
and  that  part  would  be  more  valuable,  in  proportion  to  its 


Heads  of  wheat. 


14  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

length,  than  any  other.  Wheat  forms  the  chief  food  of 
about  one  third  of  the  human  race.  It  is  the  principal 
breadstuff  of  civilized  man ;  and  it  has  been  used  for  food 
so  long  that  no  one  can  tell  who  the  first  wheat  eaters 
were.  We  know  that  the  Egyptians  raised  wheat  in  the 
valley  of  the  Nile  about  the  time  that  the  Pyramids  were 
built,  for  on  the  tombs  near  by  are  paintings  of  men  reap- 
ing and  threshing  the  crop  ;  and  we  find  wheat  mentioned 
as  food  again  and  again  in  the  Bible. 

Mills  for  wheat  grinding  and  ovens  containing  loaves  of 
baked  bread  were  found  when  the  city  of  Pompeii  was 
uncovered.  '  That  city  had  been  buried  by  the  lava  and 
ashes  of  Vesuvius  only  a  few  years  after  Christ  was  born. 
At  that  time,  we  know  from  this  discovery  that  the  Romans 
were  eating  wheat.  The  Chinese  have  a  tradition  that  wheat 
came  to  them  direct  from  Heaven.  They  say  that  their 
ancestors  were  growing  it  more  than  four  thousand  years 
ago;  and  to-day  it  is  one  of  the  grains  planted  by  the 
emperor  when  he  starts  the  spring  plowing  for  his  nation. 

Wheat  has  always  been  one  of  the  chief  foods  of  modern 
Europe.  It  was  brought  to  America  by  our  forefathers. 
George  Washington  was  a  noted  wheat  farmer  in  his  day ; 
he  had  a  mill  at  Mount  Vernon  and  exported  flour  to  the 
West  Indies. 

As  time  went  on,  wheat  was  raised  by  our  pioneers  on 
the  new  lands  farther  west.  For  a  while  New  York 
produced  a  great  part  of  the  crop.  Then  Ohio,  KentucJiy, 
Illinois,  and  Michigan  became  the  chief  wheat  states,  and, 
a  few  years  later,  King  Wheat  drew  on  his  seven-league 
boots  and  crossed  the  Mississippi.  He  trod  northward  and 
conquered  Minnesota  and   the   Dakotas,  which  are   now 


THE   BREAD   OF  THE   WORLD  — WHEAT  I  5 

amongst  our  richest  grain-growing  states,  and  then  marched 
over  the  Rocky  Mountain  plateau  and  extended  his  realm 
to  California,  Oregon,  and  Washington. 

Our  wheat  is  of  many  varieties,  each  of  which  grows 
best  in  certain  localities.  In  some  kinds  the  kernels  are 
white  and  in  others  red  or  amber.  Some  wheat  grains  are 
large,  others  small ;  some  are  heavy  and  some  light.  The 
most  of  the  wheat  of  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley  is  spring 
wheat ;  that  is,  it  is  planted  in  the  spring  and  harvested  in 
the  fall.  In  other  parts  of  the  country  winter  wheat 
grows  better.  Such  wheat  is  planted  in  the  fall  and  har- 
vested in  the  early  summer.  Spring  wheat  is  excellent  for 
bread  making,  and  it  yields  more  bread  to  the  barrel  of 
flour  than  winter  wheat.  The  winter  wheat  contains  more 
starch ;  it  also  makes  good  bread  and  is  especially  desira- 
ble for  pastry. 

In  some  parts  of  the  United  States  we  raise  a  hard 
wheat  which  looks  somewhat  like  barley.  It  is  called 
durum  and  is  excellent  for  macaroni.  It  grows  upon 
our  high,  dry  lands,  where  other  varieties  do  not  thrive.  We 
raise  much  of  it  for  our  own  use  and  ship  a  great  deal  to 
Italy,  southern  France,  and  other  countries,  where  macaroni 
largely  takes  the  place  of  bread. 

To-day  wheat  is  grown  in  many  parts  of  the  United 
States.  The  bulk  of  the  crop  comes  from  the  north  cen- 
tral part  and  the  Pacific  Coast,  but  wheat  is  raised  in  forty- 
three  different  states  and  territories,  and  in  many  of  them 
it  is  the  most  important-  crop.  In  one  year  we  have  pro- 
duced more  than  seven  hundred  and  eighty  million  bushels, 
enough  to  furnish  half  a  bushel  to  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  upon  earth.     We  are  now  growing  more  wheat  than 


i6 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 


any  other  nation,  more  than  we  can  consume,  and  so  much 
that  we  send  a  vast  deal  to  other  peoples  in  different  parts 
of  the  world. 

Much  of  our  wheat  in  the  Eastern  and  Central  States  is 
grown  on  small  farms.  Each  farmer  has  one  or  more 
fields  of  five,  ten,  or  perhaps  fifty  acres  in  wheat,  and  other 
fields  devoted  to  other  crops.     In  parts  of  California,  in 


WHEAT 

ES3  160  to  640  bushels'per  square  rm'/e  { 


Wheat  districts  of  the  United  States. 


the  Red  River  Valley,  which  runs  from  Canada  down 
between  Minnesota  and  North  Dakota,  and  in  western 
Canada,  as  well  as  in  some  other  regions,  the  soil  is  so 
good  for  wheat  that  many  farmers  raise  nothing  else.  In 
such  places  wheat  is  raised  on  a  vast  scale,  a  single  estate 
employing  hundreds  of  horses  and  men.  There  is  a  ranch 
in  California,  for  instance,  which  contains  ninety  thousand 
acres,  and  another  in  North  Dakota  which  has  seventy 
thousand.  In  California  one  field  of  forty  square  miles 
has  been  planted  in  wheat.     That  field  is  so  large  that  one 


THE  BREAD   OF  THE  WORLD  —  WHEAT 


17 


man  would  have  to  work  steadily  for  sixteen  years  to  pre- 
pare it  for  planting,  if  he  did  it  in  the  old-fashioned 
way  ;  and  it  would  require  the  labor  of  many  years 
more  for  him  to  sow  and  harvest  it  all,  if  this  were 
possible.  Such  farming,  however,  is  easily  accomplished 
by  modern  machinery.  The  planting  is  done  by  a  small 
army  of  men  with   plows  and  drills,   and  the   harvesting 


Am  jar 


Sulky  plow. 

by   several   hundred    steam    reapers   and  threshers,   each 
of  which  may  harvest  seventy-five  acres  in  a  day. 

But  we  shall  see  this  better  in  the  wheat  fields  them- 
selves. Let  us  suppose  that  we  are  on  one  of  the  big 
farms  of  the  Red  River  Valley.  It  is  so  large  that  we 
could  ride  about  it  for  days  and  not  see  it  all.  It  is  man- 
aged like  a  great  factory.  It  has  hundreds  of  men  working 
in  companies,  with  foremen  over  them.  It  has  offices 
where  the  books  are  kept,  blacksmith  shops  where  the 
machinery  is  repaired,  and  great  stables  for  its  horses. 


18  POODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

Some  of  the  fields  contain  five  hundred  acres  or  more. 
At  planting  time  forty  or  fifty  men  move  across  a  field, 
each  driving  a  sulky  plow.  Each  sulky  has  from  three  to 
six  horses  to  pull  it;  it  has  two  plows  below  it  which  cut 
two  furrows  as  it  goes.  After  the  plowing  is  finished, 
other  men  ride  behind  upon  disk  harrows  which  grind  the 
earth  fine,  and  behind  them  come  others  driving  machine 
drills  which  drop  the  wheat  into  the  soil.  These  drills  are 
long  boxes  filled  with  wheat  and  mounted  upon  wheels. 


Steam  plow. 

Each  has  a  row  of  holes  in  the  bottom,  from  which  slender 
tubes  run  down  to  the  ground.  Each  tube  will  let  out  the 
grain  just  as  fast  as  it  is  needed ;  and  behind  each  tube  is 
a  little  plow,  which  follows  and  covers  the  grain  as  it  drops. 
A  long  line  of  such  drills  will  soon  plant  a  great  field. 
Sometimes  traction  engines  take  the  places  of  horses  in 
doing  this  work.  One  great  engine  will  draw  a  line  of 
plows,  with  harrows  behind  them,  and  still  farther  back  the 
drills  which  sow  the  seed. 


THE  BREAD   OF  THE   WORLD  — WHEAT  1 9 

On  a  farm  like  this  the  work  goes  on  systematically. 
The  overseers  keep  every  man  moving.  The  brown  sod 
is  turned,  and  the  black  soil  covers  the  wheat.  Each  grain 
is  laid  away  in  its  little  nest  in  the  ground.  It  soon 
sprouts,  and,  by  and  by,  the  farm  is  covered  with  what 
looks  like  green  grass.  This  grows  rapidly,  aided  by  the 
rain  and  the  sun.  Within  a  few  months  it  is  as  high  as 
your  waist.  Now  each  green  stem  bursts  out  at  the  top 
into  a  head  filled  with  seeds.  The  seeds  are  soft  and 
milky  at  first.  They  grow  harder  and  harder  as  the  wheat 
ripens,  and  after  a  while  the  tall  green  stem  turns  to  pale 
yellow.  It  becomes  more  yellow  as  the  sun  continues  to 
shine  upon  it,  and  the  seeds  of  grain  in  the  head  turn 
yellow,  too,  inside  their  yellow  husks.  Now  the  heads  be- 
gin to  bend  over,  and  the  farmer  knows  they  are  ready  for 
harvest. 

The  wheat  is  ripe  at  the  time  of  our  visit  to  this  great 
farm  in  North  Dakota.  On  all  sides  of  us,  as  far  as  our 
eyes  can  reach,  the  golden  grain  is  rising  and  falling 
under  the  wind  like  the  waves  of  the  sea.  We  have  been 
riding  for  days  on  our  horses,  with  wheat  on  both  sides  of 
us ;  and  we  might  go  on  for  days  to  come,  seeing  nothing 
but  wheat,  wheat,  wheat.  In  many  places  they  have 
begun  to  harvest  the  crop.  We  can  see  the  smoke  from 
the  steam  threshing  machines  rising  here  and  there  over 
the  grain,  and  the  long  lines  of  reapers,  drawn  by  horses, 
which  are  cutting  it  off  close  to  the  ground  and  binding  it 
for  the  threshers.  On  several  of  the  farms  we  have 
passed  were  machines  moved  by  steam  engines,  which 
thresh  the  wheat  as  they  cut  it  and  put  it  into  sacks 
ready  to  be  carried  to  the  elevators  or  cars.     In  other 


20 


FOODS  :    OR    HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


Long  lines  of  reapers. 

places   only   the   heads    of   the   wheat   are   cut   off    and 
threshed,  the  straw  being  left  on  the  field. 


Threshing  machine. 


Our  method  of  harvesting  is  far  different  from  that 
employed  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  On  some  Russian 
farms  the  grain  is  still  cut  with  sickles  and  scythes,  just 
as  it  was  in  old  Egypt  in  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs ; 
while  on  others  our  modern  machinery  is  used.  In  some 
wheat  countries  the  grain  is  threshed  out  by  laying  it 
on  the  hard  ground  or  barn  floors  and  pounding  it  with 
sticks    and    flails,    as    was    done    long    ago    in    different 


THE   BREAD   OF  THE   WORLD  — WHEAT  21 

parts  of  our  country.  In  Turkey  and  along  parts  of  the 
lower  Danube  the  wheat  is  trodden  from  the  husks  by 
laying  it  on  threshing  floors  and  driving  cattle  or  horses 
over  it.  The  feet  of  the  animals  press  the  grain  out, 
and  the  powdered  straw,  or  chaff,  is  thrown  by  hand  into 
the  air  against  the  wind  to  clean  it.  The  wind  carries 
away  the  chaff,  and  the  wheat  drops  to  the  ground.  In 
China  wheat  is  often  so  winnowed,  the  threshing  being 
done  by  boys  who  ride  blindfolded  buffaloes  about  over 
the  straw. 

With  such  methods,  it  would  be  impossible  to  harvest 
our  enormous  wheat  crop.  We  must  have  machinery  to 
take  the  places  of  men  and  animals  ;  and  we  are  continu- 
ally inventing  new  things  by  which  steam  does  more  and 
more,  and  man  less  and  less.  One  of  our  large  threshers 
will  do  the  work  of  hundreds  of  buffaloes  or  oxen,  and  of 
thousands  of  flails.  Indeed,  a  single  threshing  machine 
sometimes  hulls  out  more  than  one  thousand  bushels  of 
wheat  in  a  day.  The  ripe  wheat  pours  into  it,  like  a  great 
golden  river ;  the  husks,  chaff,  and  straw  are  torn  off 
and  carried  away  in  another  stream ;  while  the  clean 
white  grain  flows  out  through  pipes  at  the  sides  so  fast 
that  it  keeps  several  men  busy  holding  the  bags,  that 
all  may  be  caught.  In  such  places  the  wheat  is  often 
not  bagged  at  all.  It  falls  into  the  wagons,  which  carry 
it  to  the  elevators  or  grain  storage  houses  at  the  rail- 
road stations,  or  direct  to  the  cars,  which  transport  it  in 
bulk  to  the  vast  elevators  of  the  milling  centers,  markets, 
or  ports. 

In  handling  a  crop  like  this,  machine  labor  is  always 
cheaper  than  hand  labor ;   and  every  effort  is   made  to 


22  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

reduce  the  cost  by  reducing  the  work  of  man.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  it  took  nineteen  times  as  much  hand  labor 
to  produce  a  bushel  of  wheat  before  our  planting,  reaping, 
or  threshing  machines  were  invented  as  it  does  now.  An 
equally  great,  or  greater,  saving  is  made  in  the  machinery 
by  which  we  transport  the  grain  to  the  seacoast  and  across 
the  water  to  other  countries.  It  is  largely  by  our  ma- 
chinery that  we  are  able  to  compete  successfully  with  the 
other  nations,  who  raise  and  handle  their  wheat  in  the  more 
expensive,  old-fashioned  ways. 

3.    HOW   OUR   WHEAT   IS    MARKETED 

WE  have  left  the  wheat  fields  and  are  following  the 
grain  to  the  markets.  Every  town  we  pass  through 
has  its  elevator,  where  the  grain  is  stored  until  it  can  be 
sent  off  by  train.  The  ungainly  building  rises  high  above 
the  rest  of  the  landscape.  There  are  wagons  about  it  and 
loads  of  wheat  waiting  for  storage. 

The  railroad  tracks  are  filled  with  cars,  and  long  trains 
of  wheat  are  continually  moving  on  toward  the  east  and 
the  south.  Some  are  bound  for  the  flour  mills  of  Minne- 
apolis, and  some  for  the  Mississippi  River,  down  which 
the  grain  will  float  in  huge  barges  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
on  its  way  to  South  America  or  Europe.  Other  trains 
are  moving  toward  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  where 
the  steamers  will  carry  the  grain  on  down  through  the 
Great  Lakes  to  Chicago  and  Buffalo,  and  from  Buffalo 
by  the  Erie  Canal  to  New  York.  Some  of  the  ships  will 
not   go   to   Buffalo,  but  will  pass  through  the  Welland 


HOW   OUR   WHEAT   IS   MARKETED 


23 


Canal  to  Lake  Ontario  and  by  the  St.  Lawrence  River 
out  to  the  Atlantic  and  across  to  Europe.  A  vast  deal 
of  wheat  goes  east  by  rail  from  Chicago,  and  another 
great  quantity  from   the  wheat  fields   of  the   Mississippi 


Every  town  has  its  elevator. 

Valley  to   New  York  and   our  other  Atlantic  ports,  and 
thence  on  to  Europe. 

During  the  wheat  harvest  this  grain  pours  into  almost 
every  one  of  our  great  shipping  centers.  It  flows  from 
the  farms  to  the  railroads,  and  from  the  railroads  to  the 
lakes  and  rivers,  and  on  to  the  oceans.  Much  winter 
wheat  goes  to  St.  Louis  for  export  or  to  be  made  into 
flour.  Both  spring  and  winter  wheat  flow  into  Chicago 
and  New  York.       On    the   Pacific    Coast  the   streams  of 


24 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


golden  grain  move  from  the  fields  into  San  Francisco, 
Portland,  or  Puget  Sound,  and  there  divide,  a  part  being 
redistributed  for  home  consumption,  and  another  great 
part  going  in  some  of  the  largest  ships  of  the  world  to 
Japan,  China,  Siberia,  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific. 
Some   of   this  crop    is   unloaded    to    feed    our  cousins  in 


Pacific  Coast  wheat  stored  in  bags. 


Hawaii,  and  a  small  portion  goes  by  way  of  Hong  Kong  to 
the  Philippine  Islands.  Much  of  our  Pacific  Coast  wheat 
is  stored  in  bags,  and  at  harvest  time  these  are  piled  up  at 
the  stations  by  thousands. 

Our  wheat  traffic  is  so  enormous  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible for  one  to  appreciate  it.  As  we  have  already  learned, 
our   crop   in  a  single   year  sometimes  amounts  to  more 


HOW  OUR   WHEAT   IS   MARKETED  25 

than  seven  hundred  million  bushels,  and  every  bushel 
must  in  some  way  or  other  be  taken  from  the  fields  to  the 
markets.  If  all  this  grain  were  loaded  upon  wagons  and 
hauled  by  two-horse  teams  at  a  ton  to  the  load,  allowing 
each  wagon  and  its  horses  about  thirty  feet  on  the  road- 
way, it  would  require  a  wagon  train  more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  miles  long  to  carry  it  all.  We 
can  easily  figure  how  many  times  such  a  train  would  ex- 
tend around  the  world  and  what  an  army  of  wagons  it 
would  make  if  it  were  stretched  back  and  forth  across 
the  United  States  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific 
Oceans. 

But  what  becomes  of  this  mighty  wheat  crop  ?  We 
need  the  greater  part  of  it  for  ourselves.  We  require 
almost  five  bushels  per  year  for  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  our  country,  and  this  demand  must  be  supplied 
before  we  can  think  of  shipping  wheat  abroad.  It  takes 
more  than  four  hundred  million  bushels  of  wheat  for  our 
own  needs,  and  this  amount  goes  to  our  mills  to  be  ground 
into  flour. 

In  addition,  we  have  to  save  a  great  deal  for  seed,  and  not- 
withstanding this,  we  have  somewhere  between  one  hundred 
and  two  hundred  million  bushels,  and  even  more  in  good 
seasons,  left  for  export  to  the  different  nations  of  Europe, 
Asia,  South  America,  and  Africa.  This  part  of  our  crop 
is  sent  abroad  both  as  grain  and  as  flour. 

Let  us  stop  a  moment  and  think  what  the  carrying  of 
our  wheat  to  these  distant  countries  means.  A  bushel  of 
wheat  weighs  sixty  pounds,  or  as  much  as  many  a  ten-year- 
old  boy.  It  makes  quite  a  big  bundle  ;  and,  if  one  should 
be  asked  to  carry  it  upon  his  back  to  any  place  a  hundred 

1  "  THE 


26  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

miles  from  his  home,  he  would  want  a  large  sum.  But 
most  of  our  wheat  must  be  taken  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  by  train  to  the  seacoast,  before  it  can  start  on  its 
long  ocean  voyage.  It  must  be  transported  so  cheaply 
that  it  can  compete  with  other  wheat  in  the  world's  mar- 
kets, and  so  cheaply  that  the  people  of  other  nations,  the 
most  of  whom  earn  less  than  we  do,  can  afford  to  buy  it. 

This  would  not  be  possible  unless  almost  the  whole  of 
the  work  could  be  done  by  machinery.  The  cost  of  carry- 
ing it  on  trains  and  vessels  has  been  made  so  small  that  a 
bushel  of  wheat  is  sometimes  taken  from  New  York  to 
Liverpool  for  as  little  as  two  cents,  and  it  may  be  carried 
on  the  railroad  from  Chicago  to  New  York  for  five  cents, 
or  even  less.  The  loading  and  unloading  is  done  with  but 
little  hand  labor.  Indeed,  the  grain  is  hardly  touched  by 
man  after  it  leaves  the  wheat  fields,  until  it  reaches  the 
land  of  the  consumer. 

We  stop  at  one  of  the  ports  to  take  a  look  at  the  eleva- 
tors through  which  the  grain  passes  on  its  way  from  the 
cars  to  the  ships.  These  buildings  are  wonders  of  modern 
machinery.  They  are  as  tall  as  a  twelve-story  house. 
Some  of  them  look  like  great  barns  ;  others  are  groups  of 
porcelain  or  brick  tanks,  each  lined  with  steel  in  order  that 
it  may  be  fireproof.  Above  the  tanks,  or  in  the  top.  of  one 
of  the  elevators,  is  the  hoisting  and  other  machinery  which 
move  the  grain  in  and  out. 

There  are  many  elevators  at  every  great  wheat-shipping 
center,  and  all  together  they  will  store  vast  quantities  of 
grain.  Our  wheat  crop  is  harvested  within  a  few  weeks, 
and  much  of  it  must  be  stored  for  a  time  before  it  can  be 
sent  on  to  the  market.     Some  of  the  elevators  are  so  big 


HOW   OUR   WHEAT   IS   MARKETED  2f 

that  each  will  contain  several  million  bushels  at  a  time, 
and  their  machinery  is  such  that  one  can  load  and  unload 
many  thousand  bushels  per  hour.  At  Port  Arthur,  Canada, 
is  an  elevator  which  holds  seven  million  bushels  of  wheat, 
or  enough  to  supply  bread  a  whole  year  for  a  city  of  fifteen 
hundred  thousand  people. 

The  grain  is  brought  to  the  elevator  in  bulk.    It  is  taken 
from  the  cars  in  steel  buckets  fastened  to  a  belt,  which  carry 


The  great  Port  Arthur  elevator. 

it  to  the  top  of  the  elevator  and  there  empty  it  into  great 
bins.  When  a  bin  is  full,  the  weight  of  the  grain  is  registered 
by  machines,  a  door  in  its  bottom  opens,  and  the  grain 
pours  out  through  pipes  into  the  tanks  or  storage  rooms 
below.  From  the  bottom  of  these  storage  places  there  are 
long  spouts  or  legs  which  can  be  thrust  into  the  hold  of  a 
steamer.  When  the  spouts  are  opened,  the  grain  pours 
through  them,  just  like  water,  until  the  ship  is  full.  The 
vessel  is  unloaded  in  the  same  way,  and  the  machinery  is 
such  that  a  great  steamer  holding  two  hundred  thousand 
bushels  can  be  unloaded  within  three  hours. 


28  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


4.    THE   WHEAT   OF    OTHER   LANDS 

THIS  morning  we  shall  go  outside  our  own  country  and 
see  what  other  nations  compete  with  us  in  raising 
wheat  to  sell.  Our  wheat  lands  are  extensive,  but  they  are 
by  no  means  the  only  ones  upon  earth.  The  wheat  crop 
of  the  whole  world  usually  ranges  between  two  and  three 
j^  f&^  ^t^  ^s*.  ^*^  billion  bushels  per  annum, 
■HI    I  varying  greatly  according  as 

HLgjl l^l y?L Jr  i W    tne  seasons  are  good  or  bad. 

us.  —   rest  of  world  Of  this  amount,  about  four 

The  world's  wheat  crop.  fifthg    RyQ   produced   outside 

the  United  States.  During  a  recent  year,  when  our  crop 
was  over  seven  hundred  million  bushels,  Canada  pro- 
duced about  ninety  million  bushels,  and  the  whole  North 
American  continent  eight  hundred  and  forty-seven  million. 
In  that  year  Europe  raised  almost  twice  as  much,  and  Asia 
just  about  one  half  as  much,  as  the  United  States;  while 
South  America,  Africa,  and  Australasia,  combined,  had 
about  as  much  wheat  as  the  continent  of  Asia. 

In  Europe  the  black  plains  of  central  and  southern 
Russia  and  the  plain  that  slopes  to  the  North  Sea  and  the 
Baltic  produce  most  of  the  wheat,  although  a  great  deal 
comes  from  the  valleys  of  the  Danube  and  the  Po.  The 
chief  wheat-growing  states  of  Europe  are  Russia,  France, 
Germany,  Italy,  Austria-Hungary,  and  Roumania.  In 
South  America  the  most  of  the  wheat  comes  from  the 
Argentine  Republic,  although  Chile,  Uruguay,  and  south- 
ern Brazil  are  wheat  raisers.  Canada  is  rapidly  increasing 
as  a  grain-growing  country,  and  it  has  vast  areas  between 


THE   WHEAT   OF   OTHER   LANDS  2Q 

the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Rockies  which  will  produce  excel- 
lent wheat.  It  now  grows  many  millions  of  bushels  annu- 
ally, and  it  may  some  day  be  one  of  our  principal  competi- 
tors in  the  wheat  markets  of  Europe. 

In  Asia  the  chief  grain  fields  are  in  India  and  in  Asiatic 
Russia.      Northern    China   gives   a    small    share    of    the 


Wheat  regions  of  the  world. 

product,  and  in  time  southern  Siberia  may  be  one  of  the 
chief  wheat  countries  of  that  part  of  the  world.  An  excel- 
lent hard  wheat  is  grown  in  Algeria ;  and  other  wheats 
are  raised  on  the  highlands  of  southern  Africa ;  while 
Australia  and  New  Zealand  are  both  producers  of  excel- 
lent wheat.  Indeed,  wheat  is  the  most  important  of  all 
crops  in  the  temperate  parts  of  the  globe.  It  is  a  world 
crop  and  has  a  world  market,  to  which  most  of  the  more 
important  wheat-raising  countries  send  a  part  of  their  grain 
for  sale. 

The  market  for  our  wheat  is  best  among  the  highly 
civilized  nations.  It  forms  the  chief  food  of  Europe, 
North    and  South  America,  and  Australasia.     It  is  fast 


30  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD    IS   FED 

growing  in  favor  in  many  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa,  and 
we  are  now  sending  wheat  and  flour  by  the  ship  load  to 
China  and  Japan. 

The  chief  wheat  market  of  the  world,  however,  is  Europe. 
Almost  every  nation  of  that  continent  uses  wheat ;  and,  al- 
though Europe  grows  more  than  half  of  all  the  wheat  of  the 
world,  she  annually  buys  hundreds  of  millions  of  bushels 
to  fill  her  own  bread  basket.  Some  of  the  European  coun- 
tries, such  as  Russia,  Austria-Hungary,  and  those  along 
the  lower  Danube,  produce  more  than  they  need.  France 
and  one  or  two  other  countries  have  just  about  enough  for 
their  needs ;  but  in  the  other  localities  much  of  the  food 
must  come  from  outside,  the  people  finding  it  more  profita- 
ble, owing  to  the  advantages  they  have  through  their  mines 
and  other  resources,  to  engage  in  manufacturing  or  in 
raising  other  things  to  sell.  Great  Britain,  although  she 
once  exported  wheat,  does  not  now  yield  enough  to  supply 
her  people  with  bread  for  three  months  of  the  year.  She 
has  become  a  vast  factory  and  brings  in  the  greater  part 
of  her  food  from  abroad.  It  is  the  same  with  busy  little 
Belgium,  who,  owing  to  her  coal  and  iron  mines,  can  make 
more  by  manufacturing  than  by  farming ;  and  it  is  fast 
becoming  so  with  Germany,  who  buys  more  and  more 
wheat  every  year.  The  bread  of  Holland,  Switzerland, 
and  of  Norway  and  Sweden  largely  comes  from  other 
nations  ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  Spain,  Italy,  and  Greece. 
These  European  countries  all  together  annually  require 
four  or  five  hundred  million  bushels  of  wheat  in  addition 
to  what  they  raise  themselves ;  and  this  must  come  from 
other  nations,  or  their  people  would  suffer. 

The  chief  wheat  buyer  of  the  world  is  the  United  King- 


THE  WHEAT  OF  OTHER  LANDS  3 1 

dom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  To  meet  her  demand 
for  wheat  and  flour,  in  a  single  year,  almost  two  hundred 
million  bushels  of  grain  are  sometimes  required.  She  uses 
so  much  that  she  fixes  the  price  of  wheat  in  the  world's 
markets,  each  of  the  chief  wheat-raising  nations  sending  a 
large  part  of  her  surplus  to  England.  That  country  is  by 
far  our  best  customer.  She  buys  several  times  as  much 
wheat  and  flour  of  us  as  of  any  other  country,  our  chief 
competitors  being  Russia,  India,  Canada,  and  Argentina. 

But  let  us  take  a  flying  trip  to  some  of  the  other  wheat 
lands  of  the  globe.  We  need  not  worry  about  the  season. 
This  grain  is  so  widely  scattered  that  it  is  sown  and  reaped 
somewhere  every  month,  all  the  year  round.  In  June, 
when  we  are  harvesting  it  in  California  and  our  Southern 
States,  the  harvest  is  going  on  in  Turkey,  Spain,  and  south 
France.  In  July,  when  we  reap  it  in  the  states  farther 
north,  it  is  also  falling  under  the  knives  of  Canada,  Ger- 
many, France,  Switzerland,  southern  Russia,  and  the  basin 
of  the  Danube.  In  August  it  is  harvested  in  Holland  and 
Denmark,  Great  Britain,  Poland,  and  in  western  Canada 
and  the  Dakotas;  while  in  September  and  October  the 
same  work  goes  on  in  the  Scandinavian  Peninsula  and  in 
northern  Russia  and  Scotland. 

One  would  naturally  think  that  the  harvest  must  now 
stop,  during  the  cold  months  of  our  winter  and  spring.  But 
we  remember  that  the  seasons  change  as  we  cross  the 
Equator,  and  that  the  lands  south  of  it  have  summer  when 
we  have  winter.  In  November  the  wheat  is  ripe  in  Peru 
and  South  Africa ;  in  December,  in  Burma  and  northern 
Argentina ;  and  in  January,  in  lower  Argentina,  Chile,  and 
Australasia.      In  February  and  March  it  is  harvested  in 


32 


FOODS:   OR    HOW  THE   WORLD   IS    FED 


east  India  and  middle  and  upper  Egypt;  while  in  April 
the  natives  of  lower  Egypt,  Asia  Minor,  and  Mexico  are 
reaping  it,  as  are  also,  a  month  later,  those  of  central  Asia, 
China,  and  Algeria. 

But  let  us  suppose  that  we  have  left  the  United  States 
and  are  traveling  through  the  great  plain  south  of  Moscow. 

We  are  in  the  granary  of 
Russia,  in  the  midst  of 
one  of  the  chief  farming 
populations  of  the  globe. 
How  different  from  our 
bread  lands  at  home ! 
There  are  no  fences 
marking  the  fields;  there 
are  no  houses  or  great 
barns  standing  alone  on 
the  landscape,  but,  in- 
stead, collections  of 
thatched  huts  which 
straggle  along  each 
side  of  an  unpaved  road, 
each  such  collection 
forming  a  farm  village. 
The  people  here  do  not 
live  on  their  farms,  but 
in  these  villages,  and 
go  out  from  them  to  work  in  the  fields.  Many  of  the  lands 
are  owned,  not  by  individuals,  but  by  all  the  people  of  a 
village  in  common.  They  go  out  together  to  plant  or  har- 
vest the  crop.  A  man  is  chosen  as  the  overseer  of  each 
working  party,  and  the  women  and  girls  labor  side  by  side 


Russian  sowing  wheat. 


THE   WHEAT  OF  OTHER   LANDS 


33 


with  the  men  and  boys.  After  the  crop  is  gathered,  it  is 
divided,  a  portion  being  stored  away  in  the  village  granary 
for  seed  or  to  provide  against  famine. 

In  most  parts  of  Russia  the  farming  methods  are  so  poor 
that,  although  the  land  is  good,  the  average  yield  of  wheat 
is  only  about  ten  bushels  per  acre.      The  earth  is  little 


Reaping  wheat  in  Asiatic  Russia. 

more  than  scratched  by  the  plow,  and  the  grain  is  cut  with 
sickles  or  scythes.  In  other  places  modern  machinery 
has  been  introduced,  plows  like  our  own  are  fast  coming 
in,  and  reapers  and  threshers  of  American  make  have 
taken  the  places  of  the  old-fashioned  harvesting  tools. 
This  is  so  even  in  the  Caucasus,  Siberia,  and  other  parts  of 
Asiatic  Russia,  camels  sometimes  being  used  to  drag  the 
reapers  through  the  ripe  grain.  The  extent  of  the  Russian 
wheat  lands  is  enormous,  and  the  crop  is  such  that  vast 
quantities  of  it  are  shipped  abroad.  Most  of  the  Russian 
peasants  eat  bread  made  of  rye.     With  the  new  and  better 

FOODS  —  3 


34 


FOODS:    OR    HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


methods  of  farming,  Russia  will  probably  produce    more 
and  more  wheat  for  the  markets  of  Europe. 

Our  next  trip  is  on  the  continent  of  Asia.  We  are  in 
east  India,  a  land  which,  in  good  seasons,  produces  almost 
one  twelfth  of  the  wheat  crop  of  the  world.  The  grain  is 
grown  chiefly  on  the  high  plateaus  and  especially  in  the 


Reaping  with  knives  in  east  India. 


far  northern  parts  of  the  country,  where  the  winters  are  cold. 
It  is  raised  mostly  upon  small  farms,  the  average  holding  of 
all  India  being  less  than  five  acres.  Here  the  farmers 
are  black  or  dark  brown,  and  many  of  them  wear  turbans 
while  at  work  in  the  fields.  Most  of  them  live  in  villages 
of  huts  built  of  mud  or  sun-dried  brick,  and  go  out  to 
their  work.  Some  own  their  own  lands,  but  more  are 
tenant  farmers,  and  millions  work  on  the  farms  for  a  few 
cents  a  day.  It  is  their  low  wages  and  their  few  wants  that 
enable  the  east  Indians  to  compete  with  us  in  the  wheat 
markets  of  the  world. 


THE   WHEAT  OF  OTHER   LANDS  35 

Their  methods  of  farming  are  rude.  Their  plows  are  so 
light  that  they  often  carry  them  to  the  fields  on  their 
shoulders;  and  they  cut  the  grain  with  sickles  and  scythes. 
It  is  then  threshed  out  with  oxen  and  winnowed  in 
the  wind.  In  some  parts  of  India  the  wheat  farms  are 
irrigated.  Such  lands  usually  produce  excellent  crops, 
although  the  average  for  all  India  per  acre  is  less  than 
that  for  Russia  or  for  any  other  of  the  world's  great  wheat 
countries. 

In  Argentina  the  wheat  farms  are  largely  along  the 
eastern  rivers,  or  where  the  crop  can  be  cheaply  shipped 
to  the  Atlantic.  Much  of  the  country  is  flat,  and  it  has 
railroads  which  give  the  farms  easy  access  to  the  ports. 
The  Rio  de  la  Plata  is  a  wide  and  deep  waterway,  up 
which  the  grain  steamers  sail  for  many  miles,  to  load 
wheat  for  the  markets  of  Europe.  Let  us  suppose  we  have 
left  New  York  and  sailed  across  the  Equator,  to  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  up  that  mighty  river  and  on  into 
the  Parana  to  the  city  of  Rosario,  on  its  west  bank.  We 
have  passed  wheat  fields  ever  since  we  entered  the  river, 
and  we  might  steam  for  many  miles  farther  on  with  wheat 
on  both  sides  all  the  way.  Here  it  is  piled  up  in  great 
stacks  of  bags,  ready  for  shipment ;  there  they  are  thresh- 
ing by  steam  ;  and  farther  on  modern  reapers,  made  in 
America,  are  cutting  the  grain. 

Rosario  is  the  chief  wheat  market  of  Argentina.  It  is  a 
large  city,  built  upon  high  bluffs  above  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
with  great  warehouses  of  galvanized  iron  bordering  the 
edge  of  the  river.  Most  of  the  wheat  is  bagged  at  the 
farms,  and  the  cars  carry  it  to  the  edge  of  the  bluffs, 
whence  it  is  dropped  down  into  the  holds  of  the  vessels 


36  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

through  great  iron  chutes,  bag  following  bag  so  fast  that 
they  look  like  a  procession  of  live  animals  galloping  down 
to  the  hold. 

The  wheat  crop  of  Argentina  is  stored  largely  in  bags. 
We  shall  see  great  piles  of  bags  covered  with  canvas,  as 
we  ride  through  the  fields  from  station  to  station.  There 
are  little  mountains  of  them  at  the  ports,  and,  where  the 
wheat  is  threshed,  they  are  sometimes  stacked  up  on 
platforms,  awaiting  the  time  when  they  can  be  carried  to 
the  train. 


Hauling  wheat  to  the  cars. 

As  we  go  on,  we  see  men  hauling  the  wheat  to  the  cars. 
What  immense  carts !  There  is  one  with  wheels  twice  as 
high  as  our  heads.  It  has  sixteen  great  bullocks  hitched 
to  it,  and  it  creaks  and  screeches  as  they  drag  it  over  the 
road.  There  are  eighty  bags  of  wheat  in  that  load,  and  it 
weighs  more  than  six  tons.  By  and  by  elevators  and 
better  means  of  transportation  will  probably  be  adopted. 

The   Argentine    Republic   is   comparativejy   new   as  a 


FLOUR  37 

wheat-growing  country,  and  its  methods  of  cultivation  and 
marketing  are  rude  and  wasteful.  The  climate  is  such 
that  the  stock  can  feed  out  of  doors  all  the  year  round, 
stables  are  not  needed,  and  barns  and  granaries  are  not 
used  for  storing  the  crop.  The  most  of  the  wheat  farm- 
ing is  done  by  Italians  who  have  settled  in  Argentina  and 
who  live  in  miserable  mud  huts  called  ranchos.  They 
raise  but  little  except  wheat,  working  hard  during  the 
planting  and  harvesting  seasons  and  doing  little  the  rest  of 
the  time.  They  plow  with  oxen,  horses,  or  mules ;  every 
one  in  the  family,  boy  or  girl,  who  is  old  enough,  going  out 
to  help  with  the  crop.  The  boys  ride  the  plow  horses  and, 
at  harvest  time,  help  in  cutting  and  threshing  the  grain. 


:>HK< 


5.     FLOUR 

WE  have  come  to  Minneapolis  to  learn  how  wheat  is 
turned  into  flour.  This  is  the  chief  flour-making 
city  of  the  world.  It  is  situated  on  the  Upper  Mississippi 
River,  at  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  not  far  from  the  wheat 
lands  of  the  Red  River  Valley.  Walking  down  to  the 
river,  we  can  see  the  waters  below  the  falls  boiling  and 
seething  as  they  rush  onward  on  their  long  journey  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico ;  and  near  them  the  vast  tile  tanks  for 
storing  grain,  and  the  mammoth  mills  which  are  working 
away,  day  and  night,  grinding  it  into  flour.  The  Missis- 
sippi River,  at  this  point,  has  such  a  volume  that  its  falls 
create  a  power  equal  to  that  of  many  thousand  horses  all 
pulling  at  once,  and  this  water,  passing  into  turbine  water 


38 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


wheels,  gives  the  power  that  moves  the  machinery  of  these 
mighty  mills. 

Minneapolis  began  to  make  flour  for  sale  only  about 
half  a  century  ago,  and  it  now  grinds  more  than  any  other 
city  in  the  world.  Some  of  its  mills  produce  several 
thousand  barrels  in  one  day ;  it  has  one  which  grinds 
fourteen  thousand  barrels  every  twenty-four  hours,  and 
five  which  all  together  grind  more  than  five  million  bar- 
rels in  one  year.     We  shall  appreciate  what  this  means 


Minneapolis  flour  mills. 


when  we  know  that  a  barrel  of  flour  is  about  the  average 
amount  consumed  by  one  man  in  a  year  in  the  United 
States;  and  that  these  five  mills  annually  grind  enough 
flour  to  supply  bread  for  all  the  people  of  any  one  of  our 
states  —  with  the  exception  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Illinois  —  and  a  large  amount  for  export  besides. 

But  Minneapolis,  while  the  largest,  is  by  no  means  the 
only  milling  center  of  our  country.  Great  quantities  of 
wheat  are  ground  in  New  York,  Milwaukee,  St.  Louis, 
Kansas  City,  Chicago,  Toledo,  Indianapolis,  Superior,  and 
Duluth.      There  are  smaller  mills  scattered  here  and  there 


FLOUR  39 

through  the  various  states ;  so  that  all  together  we  have 
more  than  thirteen  thousand  mills  which  are  grinding 
flour.  We  produce  in  all  much  more  than  a  hundred  mil- 
lion barrels  of  flour  a  year.  We  grind  far  more  than  we 
can  eat ;  and  we  ship  our  surplus  to  nearly  every  country 
of  Europe  and  to  many  places  in  Asia,  South  America,  and 
other  parts  of  the  world. 

Before  going  into  one  of  these  great  Minneapolis  mills, 
let  us  look  at  the  rude  methods  by  which  flour  was  made 
in  the  past,  and  by  which  it  is  ground  in  some  of  the  less 
civilized  countries  to-day.  In  the  beginning  man  probably 
ate  his  grain  raw.  A  little  later  he  found  that  he  could 
chew  it  more  easily  if  it  were  soaked  in  water  or  pounded 
or  mashed  in  a  mortar  of  wood  or  stone.  After  a  while  he 
discovered  that  it  tasted  better  cooked,  and  he  began  to 
crush  or  grind  it  and  make  bread  and  cakes.  The  first 
grinding  was  probably  by  pounding,  or  by  rolling  one 
stone  about  upon  another,  crushing  the  grain  which  lay 
between  them. 

At  first  the  stones  were  turned  by  men  or  women,  later 
by  cattle  and  oxen,  and  later  still  by  water.  As  time  went 
on,  the  stones  were  improved ;  and,  for  many  generations, 
the  most  of  the  grinding  of  the  world  was  done  by  mill- 
stones with  roughened  surfaces,  one  resting  upon  the 
other,  the  grain  entering  through  a  hole  in  the  top  stone. 
Such  mills  are  common  in  Asia  to-day.  They  are  largely 
used  in  Japan,  China,  and  India,  and  also  in  Arabia  and 
in  parts  of  Asia  Minor.  In  northern  China  the  author  has 
seen  two  women  grinding  wheat  at  a  rude  mill  of  this 
fashion,  and  in  the  city  of  Canton  he  has  watched  men 
pushing  the  top  stones  round  and   round   by  long  poles 


40 


FOODS  :  OR   HOW   THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


fastened  at  right  angles  to  them.  In  Holland  the  wind- 
mills make  the  stones  go  round,  and  where  the  Danube 
River  runs  through  the  wheat  fields,  there  are  floating 
mills  so  anchored  that  the  current  moves  the  great  wheels 
which  turn  the  stones. 

Grinding  with  stones  was  common  all  over  the  world 
until  a  little  more  than  a  generation  ago,  and  as  milling 

grew  more  and  more 
profitable,  some  estab- 
lishments had  so  many 
stones  that  they  pro- 
duced hundreds  of  bar- 
rels of  flour  in  one  day. 
The  flour,  however,  was 
not  so  good  as  that 
we  now  make ;  and, 
although  the  meal  was 
bolted  and  sifted,  and 
the  refuse  ground  and 
bolted  and  sifted  again 
and  again,  a  great  deal 
of  the  flour  was  left  in 

Grinding  with  stones  in  Africa.  the  bran  and  middlings. 

Then  separating  machines  were  invented,  by  which  more 
and  more  flour  was  secured.  The  wheat  was  mashed  to  a 
powder  between  rolls  of  porcelain  and  cold  steel  and  was 
so  treated  that  all  the  pure  flour  in  it  was  saved  by  this 
method,  and  more,  cheaper,  and  better  flour  was  produced 
than  ever  before.  These  inventions  created  a  revolution  in 
milling.  They  have  been  adopted  in  all  the  flour-making 
centers  of  our  country ;  they  are  used  largely  in  Budapest, 


FLOUR  41 

the  Hungarian  capital,  which  has  so  many  flour  mills  that 
it  might  be  called  the  Minneapolis  of  Europe ;  and  also 
in  Canada,  Argentina,  and,  indeed,  in  most  parts  of  the 
civilized  world. 

In  order  to  understand  flour  making,  as  it  is  carried  on 
to-day,  we  must  examine  carefully  the  wheat  kernels  from 
which  flour  comes.  They  are  so  small  that  we  can  hold 
hundreds  of  them  in  one  hand.  They  are  yellow  in  color 
and  exceedingly  hard.  Take  one  and  crush  it  with  a  stone 
or  bite  it  in  two.  The  inside  is  white,  and  the  taste  some- 
what like  starch.  Put  a  few  grains  into  your  mouth  and 
chew  them.  They  are  soon  crushed  to  a  mass  which, 
after  chewing,  becomes  waxlike  or  sticky.  The  starch  has 
dissolved,  and  what  are  known  as  glutenous  particles  are 
among  those  remaining.  Every  grain  of  wheat  contains 
starch  and  gluten,  and  these  are  the  valuable  parts  ground 
out  for  flour. 

Suppose  we  slice  one  of  these  little  grains  in  half  and 
place  it  under  a  microscope.  We  can  now  see  that  it  is  a 
mass  of  white  cells  with  a  wall  of  yellowish  cells  about 
them,  inclosed  in  several  coats  or  layers  of  husks.  The 
inside  cells  are  starch,  and  those  next  them  are  gluten, 
while  the  outer  layers  of  husk  form  the  bran.  That 
pear-shaped  section  at  the  lower  end  of  the  grain  is 
the  germ  ;  and  it,  like  the  bran,  is  not  good  for  flour.  The 
flour  cells  contain  the  starch  and  gluten,  some  of  which  are 
also  found  in  the  bran.  The  object  of  milling  is  to  sepa- 
rate the  bran  and  the  germ  from  the  cells  of  starch  and 
gluten,  and  to  reduce  the  latter  to  the  soft  white  flour  of 
which  we  make  bread. 

But  let  us  go  into  that  great  mill  over  there  and  see  for 


42 


FOODS:    OR    HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


ourselves.  We  walk  through  room  after  room  and  from 
story  to  story.  There  are  but  few  men  about,  for  every- 
thing is  done  by  machinery,  and  the  grain  is  hardly  touched 
by  man  from  the  time  it  goes  in  from  the  elevator  until 
the  flour  pours  out  into  the  well-marked  barrels,  which  are 


Interior  of  flour  mill. 


rolled  upon  the  cars  to  start  on  their  journey  to  different 
parts  of  the  world. 

The  first  process  is  cleaning  the  wheat.  It  is  so  treated 
that  the  bad  kernels  are  taken  out,  the  dirt  and  other  seeds 
blown  away,  and  the  good  grains  so  rubbed  with  brushes 
and  washed  by  strong  currents  of  air  that  not  a  particle  of 
dirt  is  left  on  them. 

The  wheat  is  now  ready  for  grinding,  and  it  goes  in  con- 


FLOUR  43 

veyors  to  the  top  of  the  mill,  where  it  is  automatically 
weighed  and  started  down  through  the  rolls.  The  first 
grinding  is  done  between  rolls  of  steel  which  are  slightly 
corrugated  or  grooved.  Here  the  grains  are  broken,  and, 
as  they  pass  on  through  other  rolls,  they  are  ground 
or  mashed  finer  and  finer.  After  each  grinding,  the 
meal  is  run  through  a  machine  which  separates  the 
flour  and  the  bran.  It  is  bolted  or  sifted  through  silk 
cloth  again  and  again,  and  finally  it  goes  through  the  mid- 
dlings purifier,  which  sucks  it  through  a  sieve  of  fine  silk, 
taking  out  what  is  left  of  dust  and  bran  and  making  the 
middlings  —  which,  by  the  old  methods  of  milling,  were 
practically  lost  —  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  flour.  Still 
another  milling  is  required  to  remove  the  germ,  and,  after 
that,  another  to  make  the  flour  perfect.  In  all,  the  wheat 
passes  through  six  grindings  before  it  is  ready  to  be  sold 
for  bread  making,  and  its  particles  are  cleaned  and  sorted 
again  and  again. 

In  addition  to  these  large  mills,  we  have  many  smaller 
ones  scattered  over  the  country,  some  of  which  grind  not 
only  wheat,  but  also  corn,  oats,  rye,  and  buckwheat.  The 
grain  that  is  ground  by  such  mills  is  largely  supplied  by 
the  farmers  of  the  neighborhood,  and  much  of  their  grind- 
ing is  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  food  for  stock.  Grist 
milling,  as  this  is  called,  is  a  great  industry,  although, 
owing  to  the  better  facilities  of  the  large  mills,  the  number 
of  smaller  mills  is  rapidly  diminishing  from  year  to  year. 
We  have  all  together  about  twenty-five  thousand  flour  and 
grist  mills  in  the  United  States,  and  they  turn  out  a  product 
the  value  of  which  annually  amounts  to  hundreds  of 
millions  of  dollars.  ^,^1  ■       »^, 

OF  TH 


44  FOODS:    OR   HOW   THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


6.    THE   WORLD'S   GREAT   CORN    PATCH 

WE  have  left  the  wheat  fields  and  are  now  traveling 
through  the  corn  belt  of  the  United  States.  We 
have  ridden  through  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  and,  cross- 
ing the  Mississippi,  are  going  on  the  railroad  north  and  south 
through  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  and  Missouri.  The  corn 
is  just  ripening,  and  the  country  is  covered  with  tall  stalks 
of  green,  tinged  with  yellow,  above  which  golden  tassels 
are  swayed  by  the  winds. 

Here  and  there  we  leave  the  cars  and  ride  out  through 
the  fields.  The  corn  rises  high  above  our  heads,  and  some 
of  the  stalks  are  so  tall  that  when  we  stand  upright  in  the 
saddle  we  cannot  reach  to  their  tops.  We  get  down  from  our 
horses  and  walk  along  the  rows.  We  are  in  a  great  thicket 
of  stalks,  each  of  which  has  wide  green  leaves  sprouting 
out  from  the  joints  all  the  way  up.  Almost  every  stalk 
has  one  or  two  ears  wrapped  in  light  yellow  husks,  with 
yellow,  red,  or  green  silk  at  the  end.  We  pluck  one  and 
pull  off  the  husks,  and  a  great  golden  ear,  containing  hun- 
dreds upon  hundreds  of  grains  of  ripe  corn,  appears.  We 
rub  the  grains  off  with  our  hands,  and  have  before  us  the 
Indian  corn,  or  maize,  of  commerce. 

Now  take  up  one  of  the  grains  and  bite  it  in  two.  Its 
inside  is  white  and  starchlike.  When  we  put  it  under  the 
microscope,  we  shall  see  that  it  is  made  up  of  many  little 
compartments,  each  filled  with  cells ;  and  that  there  are 
thousands  of  cells  in  one  grain.  Each  cell  contains  starch 
and  other  matter  good  for  food.  Indeed,  corn  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  very  best  of  foods.    We  eat -it  ourselves ; 


THE   WORLD'S   GREAT  CORN   PATCH 


45 


and  it  is  consumed  to  such  an  extent  by  cattle  and  hogs 
that  it  forms  the  basis  of  our  vast  packing-house  product, 
enabling  us  to  supply  meats  not  only  for  ourselves,  but 
to  ship  large  quantities .  to  other  nations  all  over  the 
world. 

We  have  already  learned  the  magnitude  of  our  wheat 
crop.      Our  corn  crop  is  much  bigger  and  is  even  more 


CORN  \ 

^640  to  3200  bushels  per  square  mile 
\orer3200  .       . 


Corn  districts  of  the  United  States. 


valuable  than  our  wheat  crop.  Corn  thrives  better  in  the/ 
United  States  than  anywhere  else.  It  is  grown  all  over 
the  eastern  half  of  this  country,  although  the  largest  part 
of  our  crop  is  raised  in  the  states  before  named.  We 
produce  all  together  more  than  four  fifths  of  the  corn 
of  the  world.  We  often  raise  more  than  two  thousand 
million  bushels  in  one  year,  and  the  crop  in  the  United 
States  has  amounted  to  as  much  as  twenty-five  hundred 
million  bushels. 


46  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

Two  thousand  million  bushels  ! 

The  amount  is  so  enormous  that  we  cannot  comprehend 
it.  If  we  could  load  it  on  two-horse  wagons,  as  we  did  our 
wheat,  putting  forty  bushels  of  shelled  corn  in  a  wagon, 
and  allowing  each  wagon  and  the  horses  that  draw  it 
thirty  feet  on  the  roadway,  the  line  of  teams  to  haul  our 
corn  would  have  to  be  more  than  twice  as  long  as  that 
required  for  our  wheat.  Indeed,  the  corn  would  fill  the 
wagons  of  a  continuous  train  mare  than  two  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  miles  long.  Such  a  train  would  more 
than  reach  around  the  world  eleven  times  ;  and,  if  we  could 
bridge  the  air  and  start  this  train  on  its  way  from  the 
globe  to  the  moon,  it  would  cover  the  two  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  miles  which  lie  between  us  and  the  moon, 
and  still  leave  a  train  of  corn  wagons  forty  thousand  miles 
long  upon  the  earth. 

Our  corn  crop  is  worth  far  more  to  us  than  is  our  cotton 
or  our  wheat  crop  ;  and  its  value  is  several  times  that  of  all 
the  gold  and  silver  we  take  out  of  the  earth  in  one  year.  It 
is  worth  so  much  that  it  makes  a  great  difference  to  every 
one  whether  the  crop  is  good  or  bad.  If  it  could  be  sold 
as  a  whole,  at  the  lowest  farm  price  in  a  good  season,  it 
would  bring  in  one  thousand  million  dollars,  or  more  than 
enough  to  give  ten  dollars  a  year  to  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  our  country,  or  about  fifty  dollars  to  every 
family. 

But  I  hear  one  boy  say,  How  does  that  affect  me  ?  I 
live  far  away  from  the  corn  belt,  and  my  people  have  not 
sold  one  bushel  of  corn  in  all  their  lives.  Yes,  but  the 
money  from  the  corn  affects  you,  nevertheless.  It  goes 
into  all  branches  of  industry,  commerce,  an4  trade.     The 


THE   WORLD'S  GREAT  CORN   PATCH  47 

farmers  who  raise  corn  buy  the  things  produced  else- 
where. Some  of  the  corn  money  finds  its  way  to  the 
mills  which  make  cloth,  to  the  tailors  who  make  clothes, 
and  to  the  merchants  who  sell  them.  The  price  of  at  least 
one  bushel  of  corn  is  required  to  buy  a  shirt,  and  of  twenty 
bushels  to  buy  any  suit  of  man's  clothing.  Corn  money 
pays  for  a  large  part  of  everything  the  farmers  use.  It 
is  with  corn  money  that  many  of  them  purchase  their 
wagons,  sleighs,  furniture,  carpets,  books,  pianos,  bicycles, 
and  watches  ;  little  Johnny's  first  boots,  and  Mamie's  new 
bonnet. 

Some  of  the  corn  money  goes  to  the  railroads  which 
carry  the  corn  to  the  market  and  bring  the  goods  back  to 
the  farmers.  The  foundries  which  make  the  steel  rails  get 
some  of  it,  as  do  also  the  woodsmen  who  cut  the  ties  for 
the  track,  the  machinists  who  build  the  engines,  and  the 
miners  who  dig  the  coal  which  runs  them.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  bookkeepers,  the  clerks,  the  teamsters,  and 
others  all  over  the  country  who  are  more  or  less  engaged 
in  business  and  trade ;  so  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
find  a  place  where  this  corn  money  does  not  go.  Corn  is 
also  fed  so  largely  to  cattle  and  hogs  that  the  prices  of 
meats  rise  and  fall  as  the  corn  crop  promises  to  be  good  or 
poor.  Indeed,  the  world  of  commerce  is  so  ruled  that  the 
welfare  of  any  body  of  men  affects  that  of  all  the  others. 

But  let  us  return  to  the  cornfields  and  examine  further 
this  wonderful  grain.  Indian  corn,  or  maize,  as  it  is  some- 
times called,  is  a  native  of  our  continent.  It  was  unknown 
in  Europe  until  America  was  discovered.  Columbus  found 
the  Indians  eating  it,  and  it  was  he  who  took  the  first 
grains  to  Europe.     These  were  planted  in  Spain,  and  from 


48 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


there  the  grain  spread  to  other  parts  of  that  continent,  and 
eventually  to  Asia,  Africa,  and  Australasia.  Corn  is  now 
raised  in  Spain,  Italy,  southern  Russia,  and  lower  portions 
of  the  Danube  Valley.  It  grows  well  in  Egypt  and  on  the 
highlands  of  South  Africa.  Some  is  raised  in  Argentina, 
Peru,  and  Bolivia,  and  smaller  quantities  in  parts  of  Asia 
and  Australasia. 

North  America,  however,  is  the  great  corn  continent. 
This  grain  is  raised  in  Mexico  and  Canada,  and,  more  and 

better  than  anywhere 
else,  in  the  United 
States.  It  requires 
a  well-drained  rich 
sandy  loam  which 
does  not  bake  when 
the  season  is  dry.  It 
must  have  many  long 
hot  days  and  warm 
nights ;  in  fact,  just 
such  a  soil  and  climate 
as  are  found  in  most 
parts  of  our  country, 
and,  at  their  best, 
in  the  seven  states 
known  as  the  corn 
belt,  through  which 
we  have  been  travel- 
ing. Illinois,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Missouri,  Indiana, 
and  Ohio,  each  yield  more  than  one  hundred  million 
bushels  of  corn  every  year,  and  all  together  they  produce 
more  than  one  half  the  corn  of  the  world. 


In  a  cornfield. 


THE  WORLD'S   GREAT  CORN   PATCH  49 

As  we  ride  onward  through  one  big  corn  patch  after 
another,  the  farmers  tell  us  how  the  grain  is  planted  and 
reaped.  The  fields  are  plowed  in  the  spring,  and  in  May 
the  kernels  of  corn  are  dropped,  either  by  machinery  or 
hand,  in  hills  or  drills  three  or  four  feet  apart.  If  the  seed 
is  planted  in  hills,  these  are  so  arranged  that  the  crop  can 
be  plowed  either  way.  In  a  few  days  the  grain  sprouts 
and  makes  its  way  through  the  soft  mellow  soil.  At  first 
it  looks  much  like  grass,  but  as  the  summer  advances  it 
grows  taller  and  taller,  and  its  leaves  and  stalks  grow 
larger.  It  is  plowed  several  times,  and  the  weeds  are  kept 
down.  Then  one  ear  grows  on  the  side  of  each  stalk,  or 
two  ears,  one  on  either  side  of  the  stalk,  and  at  the  top  the 
tassel  appears. 

After  a  season  of  about  four  months  the  grain  ripens 
and  is  ready  for  cutting.  On  small  farms  this  is  done  by 
hand,  the  men  going  through  the  fields  with  great  sword- 
like knives,  called  corncutters.  They  chop  down  hill  after 
hill,  cutting  the  stalks  off  near  the  ground  and  letting 
these  fall  back  into  their  arms  until  each  man  has  an  arm- 
ful. They  then  carry  the  stalks  to  the  shocks  and  stand 
them  in  a  framework  which  is  formed  by  bending  some 
of  the  uncut  hills  of  stalks  and  tying  them  together.  They 
place  armful  after  armful  in  such  places,  until  at  last  the 
whole  field  is  cut,  and  the  corn  stands  on  end  in  big,  round 
shocks,  each  of  which  is  tied  tight  near  the  top.  The  rain 
then  flows  off  as  though  from  a  tent,  and  does  not  hurt  the 
corn. 

The  shocks  are  left  in  the  field  for  some  time  and  are 
then  pulled  apart,  and  the  husking  begins.  This  is  usually 
done  by  hand,  the  men  pulling  the  husks  off  the  ears,  which 

FOODS 4 


50 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


they  throw  in  piles  on  the  ground.  Sometimes  the  farmer 
boys  and  girls  meet  together  to  help  each  other  husk. 
Such  parties  are  called  husking  bees.  They  are  great  fun, 
especially  when  one  of  the  party  finds  a  red  ear  of  corn, 
which  is  supposed  to  give  him  the  right  to  kiss  the  sweet- 


Harvesting  corn  in  Illinois. 


est  girl  of  the  party.  When  the  corn  is  all  husked,  it  is 
taken  in  wagons  to  the  granary  or  to  the  market  for  sale. 
The  most  of  that  sold  is  shelled  from  the  cob.  The  corn 
of  commerce  is  always  shelled  corn.  After  husking,  the 
stalks  are  again  put  up  in  shocks,  or  carried  to  the  barn,  or 
stacked  up  for  feed  for  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs. 

On  the  larger  farms  much  of  the  work  is  done  by 
machinery.  The  plows  are  ridden  by  men,  a  number  of 
rows  being  dropped  and  covered  at  the  same  time.     The 


THE  WORLD'S  GREAT  CORN   PATCH 


51 


tilling  is  by  cultivators  which  will  plow  several  rows  at  once  ; 
and  the  reaping  is  with  machines  which  cut  many  hills  and 
bind  them.  There  are  also  machines  which  husk  the  corn 
as  they  cut  it ;  and  some  which  tear  the  stalks  and  leaves 
apart,  so  that  the  cattle  can  more  easily  eat  them. 

One  of  the  most  important  things  in  corn  raising  is  that 
the  right  seed  be  chosen.     Our  corn  lands,  on  the  average, 


Cutting  corn  by  machinery. 


the  United  States  over,  produce  but  little  more  than  twenty- 
five  bushels  per  acre,  but  in  some  places  they  produce  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five,  and  up  to  even  one  hundred,  bushels 
per  acre,  for  very  large  tracts.  The  most  corn  ever  pro- 
duced on  one  acre  was  in  South  Carolina,  where  the  yield 
was  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  bushels. 

Now  it  has  been  found  that  if  the  best  seed  is  used,  the 
crop  can  be  greatly  increased  ;  and  many  believe  that  if 
such  seed  were  used  all  over  our  country,  our  enormous 


52 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


corn  crop  might  be  doubled.      The  people  of   the   corn 
states  realize  this,  and  every  farmer  tries  to  have  the  best 

seed.  He  saves  the  finest  ears 
of  his  thriftiest  plants  and  grows 
seed  from  them.  He  selects  the 
best  of  this  corn  and  plants  it 
again,  finding  that  his  seed  grows 
better  and  better  year  after  year, 
and  that  by  such  improvements 
he  can  vastly  increase  his  crop. 

In  the  corn  states  through 
which  we  are  traveling,  the 
farmers'  boys  study  seed  corn; 
and  many  of  them  have  little 
corn  patches  of  their  own  in 
which  they  try  to  raise  better 
corn  than  their  fellows.  In 
some  communities  there  are  seed- 
corn  associations  which  offer 
prizes  of  from  three  to  twenty- 
five  dollars  each  for  the  best 
ears  of  seed  corn.  The  boys 
bring  their  samples  to  these 
associations  to  be  judged,  and 
the  one  who  has  the  best  gets 
the  prize.  There  are  thousands 
of  boys  in  Illinois,  Iowa,  Mis- 
souri, and  other  states  who  are 
raising  corn  in  this  way. 
As  we  travel  on  through  the  corn  belt,  we  see  the  impor- 
tant part  that  corn  holds  in  providing  meat  for  our  tables. 


Good  ear  of  corn. 


THE  WORLD'S  GREAT  CORN   PATCH  53 

Every  farmer  has  a  large  number  of  cattle  and  hogs.  He 
feeds  the  most  of  his  corn  on  the  farm  and  sells  it  as  pork 
or  beef,  in  the  shape  of  fat  live  stock.  A  pound  of  corn  as 
corn  is  worth  only  a  fraction  of  a  cent.  But  when  it  has 
been  turned  into  beef  or  pork,  it  can  be  sold  for  several  times 
that  much,  and  at  the  same  time  the  farm  be  enriched  by 
the  manure  of  the  animals.  On  this  account,  the  most  of  the 
corn  crop  is  fed  in  the  regions  where  it  is  raised,  the  ani- 
mals grinding  it  up,  as  it  were,  into  meat.  We  pass  train 
load  after  train  load  of  fat  cattle  and  hogs  on  our  way 
through  the  corn  states.  They  have  been  sold  by  the  farm- 
ers and  are  now  being  taken  to  Omaha,  St.  Louis,  Kansas 
City,  Chicago,  and  other  great  meat-packing  centers. 

In  fact,  we  consume  the  greater  part  of  our  corn  crop  atV 
home.  Not  one  bushel  in  twenty  is  shipped  abroad.  We 
use  corn  for  many  things  and  especially  for  food,  grinding 
it  into  meal  for  bread,  mush,  and  cakes.  We  have  break- 
fast foods  made  of  it,  and  also  hominy  and  cornstarch.  The 
most  of  our  alcohol  comes  from  maize,  and  the  grain  forms 
the  basis  of  whisky,  also  of  cologne  and  other  perfumeries. 
From  it  comes  glucose,  a  thick  white  sirup  which  is  used 
largely  on  our  tables  and  for  making  candies,  as  well  as 
for  adulterating  molasses  and  honey. 

Another  valuable  product  of  Indian  corn  is  starch.  We 
saw,  through  the  microscope,  the  starch  cells  that  each 
kernel  contains.  There  are  so  many  of  these  cells  that 
corn  makes  more  and  better  starch  than  any  other  cereal ; 
and,  for  this  reason,  we  have  great  factories  which  supply 
all  we  need  of  this  article,  as  well  as  large  quantities  of  it 
for  shipment  abroad. 

The  process  of  starch  making  is  interesting.     The  grains 


54  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

are  placed  in  great  tanks  of  copper,  wood,  or  iron,  each  of 
which  will  hold  a  thousand  bushels  at  one  time.  A  mix- 
ture of  sulphuric  acid  and  boiling  water  is  now  let  in. 
This  softens  the  grains,  and  they  are  then  ground  or 
crushed  to  a  pulp,  in  order  that  the  germ  and  other  parts 
may  be  separated  from  the  starch.  They  are  ground  again 
and  again,  run  through  rubber  rollers,  and  the  pulp  is  car- 
ried out  upon  shakers  or  copper  sieves,  and  afterward  upon 
sieves  of  fine  silk,  so  that  the  starch  is  finally  taken  up  by 
the  water,  and  the  germ  and  other  parts  of  the  grain  are 
freed  from  it. 

The  starch  is  again  washed,  to  make  it  more  pure,  and 
then,  allowed  to  settle.  It  is  dried  in  kilns  or  furnaces  and, 
after  passing  through  a  variety  of  machines,  is  ready  for 
use  to  stiffen  our  dresses  or  shirts,  to  size  paper,  and  for 
other  purposes.  Starches  intended  for  cooking  must  be 
purer  and  whiter  than  those  used  for  clothes  washing,  and 
they  require  special  treatment. 

Starch  is  also  made  from  other  grains,  such  as  rice ;  and 
we  have  seen  that  it  forms  a  large  part  of  our  wheat.  It 
is  also  found  in  the  potato,  the  sweet  potato,  and  cassava. 
Indeed,  the  most  of  the  starch  of  Europe  is  made  from 
potatoes. 

The  germ  and  refuse  of  the  grain  used  in  starch  making 
are  carefully  saved.  They  are  dried  and  ground  to  a  fine 
meal  which  contains  a  large  percentage  of  oil.  The  oil  is 
pressed  out  and  sold  for  various  uses.  The  cake  which 
remains  after  the  oil  has  been  pressed  out  is  excellent 
stock  food,  and  a  great  part  of  this  product  is  shipped  to 
Europe  to  feed  cattle. 

The  leaves  and  stalks  of  the  corn  have  a  great  feeding 


THE   WORLD'S   GREAT  CORN   PATCH  55 

value.  They  are  usually  known  as  corn  fodder  and  are 
fed  everywhere  to  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep.  Our 
crop  of  corn  fodder  weighs  more  than  our  hay  crop  by 
many  millions  of  tons. 

Corn  husks  are  used  for  mattresses.  The  outer  portions 
of  the  stalks,  ground  to  a  pulp,  make  a  strong  writing  paper, 
and  the  pith  is  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  varnish, 
gun  cotton,  and  other  high  explosives.  The  pith  is  also 
used  in  the  construction  of  our  war  vessels.  It  is  packed 
between  the  hull  and  armor  plates  of  these  vessels,  to 
keep  them  from  sinking  if  they  should  be  pierced  by  a 
shell  from  the  enemy.  It  is  so  porous  and  spongy  that 
when  the  water  flows  in,  it  swells  rapidly  and  fills  up 
the  hole. 

In  addition  to  this  field  corn,  used  for  grain  and  meal, 
we  have  other  varieties  of  maize  which  form  a  large  part 
of  our  food.  Nearly  every  American  garden  has  its  patch 
of  sweet  or  sugar  corn  for  roasting  ears,  and  perhaps  a 
row  or  so  of  popcorn,  from  which  come  the  hard  flinty 
grains  that  burst  out  white  as  snow  when  held  over  the 
fire.  These  varieties  are  grown  in  the  same  way  as  field 
corn.  The  sweet  corn  is  eaten,  however,  when  the  grains 
have  just  formed  and  their  milky  juice  has  not  hardened. 
The  husked  ears  are  boiled  or  roasted,  and  then  eaten  or 
canned  for  use  during  other  parts  of  the  year.  We  have 
built  great  canning  factories  to  put  up  such  corn.  The 
work  in  these  factories  is  done  by  machinery.  There  are 
machines  for  removing  the  silk,  others  which  will  cut  the 
grains  from  the  cobs  at  the  rate  of  four  thousand  ears  per 
hour,  and  still  others  which  will  fill  twelve  thousand  cans 
in  a  day. 


56 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


7.    RICE 

WE  must  keep  our  eyes  open  this  morning,  for  we  are 
on  the  other  side  of  the  globe  from  America.  We 
have  come  to  Asia  to  learn  about  rice,  a  grain  which  is  eaten 
by  every  civilized  people,  and  which  takes  the  place  of  bread 

with  a  large  part  of  the  human 
race.  The  Chinese  like  rice 
better  than  wheat,  and  all 
Oriental  peoples  esteem  it  the 
best  of  foods.  We  have  seen 
that  America  is  the  chief  corn 
continent  because  it  has  just 
the  soil  and  climate  best  fitted 
for  that  crop.  For  the  same 
reason  Asia  might  be  called 
the  rice  continent.  Parts  of 
it  have  just  the  conditions 
needed  for  raising  excellent 
rice,  and  therefore  Asia  pro- 
duces more  rice  than  any  other  of  the  great  land  divisions. 
Indeed,  it  raises  many  times  more  than  all  the  rest  of  the 
world  put  together. 

The  grain  thrives  in  the  rich  wet  soil  about  the  mouths 
of  rivers,  in  low  valleys,  and  in  flooded  plains.  The  south- 
ern and  eastern  portions  of  Asia  are  largely  made  up  of 
hot  river  bottoms  and  low-lying  plains,  cut  by  streams 
which  furnish  ample  water  to  irrigate  the  crop.  These 
climatic  and  surface  features  are  especially  marked  in 
British  and  Farther   India,  and  also  in  the  central  and 


The  Chinese  like  rice. 


rice  57 

southern  portions  of  China.  Rice  also  grows  well  in  cer- 
tain mountainous  islands  of  the  tropics,  where  the  rainfall 
is  heavy  and  the  streams  furnish  water  for  irrigation ;  in 
Java,  for  instance,  where  the  sides  of  the  mountains  are 
terraced  for  rice ;  and  in  Japan,  where  their  lower  slopes 
are  spotted  with  rice  fields,  the  water  from  above  flowing 
from  level  to  level  down  to  the  rice  which  grows  on  the 
plains. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Asia  raises  so  large  a  pro- 
portion of  the  rice  crop  of  the  world,  the  grain  grows  in  al- 
most every  warm  country.  It  thrives  in  the  lowlands  of  our 
South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States,  in  swampy  parts  of  south- 
ern Europe,  and  in  the  delta  of  the  Nile.  It  is  produced  in 
abundance  in  the  Philippines,  in  Sumatra,  Ceylon,  Mada- 
gascar, and  Mauritius,  and  also  in  Hawaii  and  many  other 
islands  of  the  Pacific.  It  is  raised  in  the  West  Indies  and 
in  the  tropical  lowlands  of  Central  and  South  America. 

Like  wheat,  rice  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  grains.  It  is 
supposed  to  have  originated  in  India ;  and  it  was  eaten  by 
the  Chinese  thousands  of  years  before  Christ.  It  began 
to  be  cultivated  in  Europe,  in  the  marshy  lands  about 
Venice,  shortly  before  America  was  discovered,  and  it  was 
brought  to  the  United  States  about  two  hundred  years 
later.  Our  first  seed  rice  came  from  Madagascar.  In 
1694  a  ship  from  that  island,  which  had  been  driven  out  of 
its  way  by  a  storm,  landed  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 
Its  captain  had  a  sack  of  unhusked  rice  with  him  ;  and, 
upon  leaving,  he  gave  it  to  Thomas  Smith,  who  was  then 
the  governor  of  the  state.  The  seed  was  distributed.  It 
was  planted  in  low  swampy  places,  and  a  large  yield  of  ex- 
cellent rice  was  the  result.     The  farmers  learned  about  this 


58 


FOODS:    OR    HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


crop.     Those  who  had  the  right  soil  began  to  plant  rice, 
and  in  a  short  time  it  became  one  of  the  chief  crops  of 

South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.  Later  it  was 
grown  in  Mississippi, 
Alabama,  Louisiana, 
and  Texas. 

Our  rice  is  about 
the  best  raised  any- 
where. It  is  sweeter, 
larger,  and  better 
colored  than  that  of 
Asia,  and  it  com- 
mands a  high  price. 
There  are  as  many 
varieties  of  rice  as 
of  potatoes  or  apples. 
There  is  a  wild  rice  which  grows  in  southern  Asia,  an 
upland  rice  which  requires  no  irrigation  and  can  be  raised 
in  the  mountains,  and  there  are  many  irrigated  varieties 
which  produce  the  rice  of  commerce.  Some  rices  have 
small  grains,  and  some  large ;  some  are  white,  and  some 
red ;  some  are  scented,  and  some  not.  The  nations  which 
largely  live  upon  rice  know  the  different  kinds,  just  as  we 
know  the  best  coffees  or  teas;  and  each  rice  commands  its 
own  price  in  the  markets. 

As  we  go  on  with  our  travels,  we  shall  observe  that  rice 
is  not  a  cheap  food.  It  costs  so  much  that  in  many  parts 
of  India,  China,  Japan,  and  other  countries  of  Asia  the 
poorest  people  cannot  afford  to  eat  it ;  and  they  live  upon 
the  seeds  of  millet,  sorghum,  rye,  and  barley  instead.     We 


Sheaves  of  Louisiana  rice. 


rice  59 

shall  see  that  more  work  is  required  to  produce  rice  than 
any  other  cereal ;  so  much  that  the  price  of  the  grain  must 
be  high  in  order  to  pay  for  the  labor  of  producing  it. 

Let  us  visit  some  of  the  rice  regions.  We  start  in 
Japan.  The  lowlands  are  a  patchwork  of  fields  not  bigger 
than  our  gardens,  each  walled  with  a  little  embankment 
about  a  foot  high,  upon  which  grass  and  wild  flowers  are 
growing.  Some  of  these  fields  are  covered  with  water,  and 
plants  that  look  like  grass  are  growing  in  them.  The  sun 
is  now  at  its  brightest.  It  makes  the  water  sparkle  like 
diamonds,  and  the  green  grassy  rice  plants  stand  out  like 
sprays  of  emeralds  upon  it.  Higher  up  are  other  patches 
of  green  rice,  and  the  hillsides  are  everywhere  terraced, 
so  that  the  whole  looks  like  an  inclined  plane  of  wide 
irregular  steps  of  mirrors  or  silvery  water  spotted  with 
green. 

In  some  of  the  patches  the  rice  is  higher  than  in  others  ; 
here  the  water  has  been  drawn  off  for  the  time,  and  there 
the  dry  ground  is  being  prepared  for  planting.  See  that 
field  with  the  quaint  little  brown  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren working  in  it.  Each  wears  a  hat  like  a  butter  bowl ; 
the  women  have  on  gowns  of  blue  cotton,  and  the  men  and 
children  are  half  naked.  They  are  digging  up  the  ground 
with  mattocks  and  smoothing  it  off  for  the  crop. 

Now  let  us  go  on  up  the  hill  to  where  that  family  is 
planting  the  sprouts.  We  may  take  off  our  shoes,  if  we 
will,  and  wade  in  and  help.  The  field  has  been  flooded, 
and  the  water  comes  halfway  to  our  knees.  The  rice 
planters  are  wading ;  they  are  bending  over,  reaching 
down  under  the  water,  and  setting  the  green,  grasslike 
sprouts,  raised  in  the  seed  beds,  deep  in  the  mud. 


60  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

Rice  is  grown  in  the  water,  and  it  must  be  kept  flooded 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  until  it  matures.  This  ne- 
cessitates a  system  of  canals  or  other  means  of  irrigation. 
In  many  places  in  Japan  and  China  men  are  always  pump- 
ing water  for  the  rice  fields.  They  raise  it  by  hand  from 
one  level  to  another  in  buckets  or  baskets ;  they  run  water 
wheels  with  their  feet,  and  they  drive  animals  about,  turning 
wheels   to    which  jars  are  attached.     In  the  Philippines, 


Setting  out  rice  sprouts  in  Japan. 

Java,  and  in  large  parts  of  southern  Asia  huge  ungainly 
water  buffaloes  drag  the  plows  and  harrows  through  the 
mud ;  and  in  some  places  such  animals  are  blindfolded 
and  made  to  turn  wheels  which  elevate  the  water  from 
the  streams  to  the  fields. 

After  the  rice  sprouts  are  set  out,  the  cultivation  has 
only  begun.  Water  must  be  let  on  and  off  from  time  to 
time,  the  rice  be.  weeded  again  and  again,  and  when  at  last 


RICE 


61 


it  has  turned  a  bright  yellow,  it  must  be  gathered,  pulled 
off,  and  husked  before  it  can  be  made  fit  to  cook. 

Let  us  suppose  ourselves  in  the  Philippine  Islands 
when  the  rice  is  ready  for  harvest.  We  are  in  the  wide 
valley  north  of  Manila,  on  the  island  of  Luzon.  It  is  cut 
up  by  rice  fields,  but  here  the  rice  is  ripe.  Instead  of  the 
green  young  plants  we  saw  in  Japan,  the  fields  are  of  a 
rich,  golden  yellow.     The  grain  has  been  watched  for  days 


Plowing  for  rice  in  the  Philippines. 


by  the  boys  and  girls ;  and  some  of  the  fields  have  scare- 
crows in  them,  and  others  strings  stretched  across  them 
which  can  be  shaken  to  frighten  the  birds. 

We  stoop  over  and  examine  the  ripe  grain.  It  is  much 
like  barley  or  rye,  and  it  stands  quite  as  thick  on  the 
ground.  Each  stem  has  headed  out  into  a  number  of 
seeds,  tightly  inclosed  in  bright  yellow  husks. 

Over  there  are  some  of  our  little  brown  cousins  reaping. 


62  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

The  party  is  composed  of  men  and  women,  each  of  whom 
holds  a  small  knife  with  which  the  rice  stalks  are  cut 
one  by  one.  When  an  armful  has  been  cut  it  is  tied  up 
in  a  sheaf  and  laid  on  the  ground.  By  and  by  the 
sheaves  will  be  carried  home  to  the  granary,  and  the  rice 
got  out  from  time  to  time,  as  required  by  the  family ; 
or,  it  may  be  husked  in  the  fields  and  shipped  to  the 
market. 


Filipino  rice  harvesters. 

In  the  chief  rice-raising  countries  this  harvest  is  an  im- 
portant event.  At  its  beginning  the  natives  often  have 
picnics,  and  in  some  places,  such  as  Java,  they  erect  little 
temples  in  the  fields  to  the  goddess  of  the  harvest.  Each 
temple  is  about  as  big  as  a  pigeon  house  ;  in  it  is  placed 
the  usual  offering,  consisting  of  an  egg,  some  fruit,  a  bit  of 
sugar  cane,  and  a  dish  of  cooked  rice. 

But  even  when  the  harvest  is  over,  the  rice  is  by  no 


RICE  63 

means  ready  for  food.  The  paddy,  which  means  the  grains 
with  the  husks  on,  has  to  be  removed  from  the  straw.  In 
many  countries  this  is  done  by  drawing  the  grain  over  saw- 
shaped  knives,  so  that  the  heads  are  pulled  or  cut  off.  The 
rice  must  now  be  husked  out  before  it  will  be  ready  for 
use.  The  husks  are  not  loose  in  rice,  as  in  wheat,  barley, 
and  oats ;  they  stick  as  though  glued  to  the  grain,  and 
they  must  be  pounded  or  ground  off. 

This  is  done  differently  in  the  various  parts  of  the  world. 
The  rice  used  by  the  natives  of  many  countries  for  their 
own  food  is  stored  in  the  sheaf,  or  paddy,  and  cleaned  as 
it  is  needed ;  while  that  sold  in  the  markets  of  the  world 
is  more  often  cleaned  and  polished  by  machinery  in  rice 
mills,  which  have  been  built  for  this  purpose  at  the  chief 
rice-exporting  centers. 

The  natives  of  Asia  husk  rice  in  all  sorts  of  ways.  Here 
in  the  Philippines  and  in  Java,  as  well  as  in  many  other 
places,  they  pound  the  husks  off  in  mortars  of  stone  or 
wood  hollowed  out  for  the  purpose.  They  are  also  flailed 
off  or  trodden  off  by  animals  and  men  on  threshing  floors  ; 
and  sometimes  in  mortars,  by  rude  machines  worked  by 
water.  In  most  places  the  chaff  is  taken  out  by  throwing 
up  the  mixture  of  husks  and  rice  against  the  wind,  so 
that  the  refuse  is  blown  away,  and  the  clean  rice  caught 
in  a  basket  or  allowed  to  fall  to  the  ground.  Indeed, 
nearly  every  country  has  its  own  way  of  cleaning  this  grain. 

It  is  different  with  the  mills  which  prepare  the  rice  for 
the  markets  ;  they  are  much  the  same  everywhere.  We 
can  see  them  in  Saigon,  Cochin  China,  in  Bangkok,  Siam, 
at  Bombay  and  Calcutta  in  India,  and  also  in  Rangoon,  the 
chief  exporting  place  for  the  rich  rice  fields  of  Burma. 


64  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

Let  us  suppose  that  we  have  sailed  up  the  Bay  of  Bengal 
and  into  the  mouth  of  the  Irrawaddy  River,  to  visit  one  of 
the  rice  mills  of  Rangoon.  It  is  a  large  building  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  where  the  paddy  can  be  easily  landed 
from  the  boats  and  the  cleaned  rice  loaded  on  the  steamers 
for  Europe.     The  manager,  who  acts  as  our  guide,  is  an 


Japanese  hulling  rice  in  hand  mills. 

Englishman,  but  the  workmen  are  brown-skinned  Burmese, 
naked  to  the  waist,  and  with  cloth  turbans  tied  around  their 
heads. 

The  mill  is  run  by  steam,  and  it  is  filled  with  modern 
machinery.  We  watch  the  paddy  as  it  passes  through  one 
set  of  millstones  after  another,  until  the  husks  are  torn  off 
and  the  rice  comes  out  clean.     We  observe  that  the  stones 


RICE  65 

are  carefully  set,  that  they  may  not  injure  the  white  grains. 
The  husks  stick  so  tightly,  however,  that  the  grain  is  rough 
when  it  comes  out.  It  must  now  be  smoothed  for  the 
market.  Think  of  polishing  grain  as  one  polishes  silver 
or  gold  !  That  is  what  is  done  with  almost  all  the  rice  we 
eat.  The  grains  are  thrown  by  machinery,  again  and 
again,  upon  rollers  covered  with  sheepskin,  until  each  is  as 
bright  and  clean  as  a  new  silver  spoon.  The  rice  is  now 
ready  for  the  markets,  and  it  is  bagged  for  shipment.  In 
the  older  rice-raising  countries  much  rice  is  eaten  un- 
polished, and  it  is  said  that  polishing  the  grain  rubs  off 
much  of  its  nutritious  and  appetizing  qualities. 

The  United  States  has  the  finest  of  milling  machinery 
for  threshing,  cleaning,  and  husking  rice ;  and  it  also  has 
machines  for  planting  and  cultivating  it.  Our  fields  are 
irrigated,  where  it  is  necessary,  by  steam  pumps,  some 
stationary,  and  some  floating  on  flat  boats  or  lighters.  We 
use  sulky  and  gang  plows  to  break  up  the  ground,  cut-away 
and  disk  harrows  to  smooth  it,  and  machine  seeders  to  put 
in  the  grain.  We  reap  our  rice  with  harvesters  and  thresh 
and  clean  it  by  steam.  In  this  way  we  are  rapidly  increas- 
ing our  rice  crop ;  we  already  raise  almost  all  we  consume, 
and  we  may  some  day  ship  a  great  deal  to  other  parts  of 
the  world. 

In  our  Asiatic  journeys  we  have  had  rice  served  in  one 
way  or  another  at  almost  every  meal.  It  is  usually  eaten 
boiled  or  steamed  and  is  seldom  ground  up  for  flour  and 
made  into  bread  or  cakes.  It  is  often  served  with  a  highly 
seasoned  curry  and,  in  Japan,  with  dried  fish  and  a  sauce 
known  as  soy.  The  Chinese  and  Japanese  make  rice  beer 
and  rice  wines.     Chinese  boys,  on  New  Year's  Day,  pop 

FOODS  —  5 


66  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 

rice  as  we  pop  corn ;  and  we  learn  that  the  two  grains 
taste  much  the  same. 

Rice  is  also  used  to  make  starch.  The  inner  skin  of 
the  husk  and  the  dust  from  cleaning,  as  well  as  the  straw, 
are  fed  to  stock.  The  husks  are  often  used  for  packing 
breakable  articles;  and  in  Japan  the  straw  is  woven  into 
bags  and  wrappers  which  take  the  place  of  our  goods 
boxes.  From  it  the  everyday  hats,  shoes,  or  sandals  of 
the  common  people  are  made ;  it  forms  the  rain  shawls, 
which  take  the  place  of  our  waterproofs,  and  the  shoes 
for  horses  and  oxen,  which  "are  tied  on  with  straw  strings. 

The  rice  crop  is  quite  as  important  to  many  of  the 
Asiatic  countries  as  our  wheat  or  corn  crop  is  to  us. 
In  China  a  large  part  of  the  taxes  are  paid  in  this  grain, 
and  in  Japan  the  god  of  good  fortune  is  a  jolly  little  fat 
man,  named  Daigoku,  seated  on  bags  of  rice.  As  we 
have  passed  through  the  country,  we  have  seen  him  in 
almost  every  store  and  in  the  home  of  every  poor  man  we 
have  visited. 

8.    OTHER    GRAINS    WHICH    FEED    MILLIONS 

IN  addition  to  wheat,  corn,  and  rice,  several  other  ce- 
reals are  raised,  which  are  used  as  food  by  many  millions 
of  people.  In  parts  of  Europe  barley  and  oats  are  favorite 
breadstuffs.  The  poorer  classes  in  Germany,  Austria,  and 
Russia  use  rye  flour  as  the  people  of  the  United  States 
use  wheat.  Rye  and  barley,  when  growing,  look  much 
like  wheat ;  and  oats  resemble  the  other  three,  save  that 
their  grains  head  out  in  little  branches,  instead  of  in  one 
long  head. 


OTHER   GRAINS   WHICH    FEED    MILLIONS  67 

•  All  these  cereals  have  long  been  used  by  man.  Barley 
was  grown  in  China  more  than  six  thousand  years  ago, 
and  it  formed  one  of  the  food  stuffs  of  the  early  Egyptians, 
Greeks,  and  Romans.  The  oat  is  prehistoric,  but  rye 
seems  to  be  of  a  later  origin.  Oats  were  grown  by  the 
Romans,  though  not  by  the 
ancient  Greeks,  nor,  as  far  as 
we  know,  by  the  Egyptians. 
Caligula,  the  Roman  emperor, 
is  said  to  have  fed  his  horses 
on  golden  oats;  but  as  the 
grain  is  yellow,  the  color  alone 
was  probably  referred  to. 

Barley,  rye,  and  oats  are 
raised  and  harvested  much 
like  wheat.  They  are  cheaper 
than  wheat;  for  they  will 
grow  upon  poorer  soils  and  in 
a  greater  variety  of  climates, 
thriving  in  and  north  of  the 
wheat  belt.  Barley  will  grow 
farther  north  than  almost  any 
other  cereal.     It  is  raised  in  0ats# 

Alaska  and  Iceland,  and  also  as  far  south  as  Algeria  and 
Egypt.  The  Norwegians  use  it  for  bread,  and  it  is  also 
employed  for  beer  making  and  horse  feeding  in  the  United 
States  and  Europe.  If  we  should  become  sick  during  our 
travels,  the  doctor  might  tell  the  nurses  to  feed  us  barley 
broth.  Pearl  barley  is  nourishing  and  is  often  used  as 
a  thickening  for  soups. 

The  world's  crop  of  barley  annually  amounts  to  more 


68 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


Barley. 


than  one  billion  bushels,  of  which  we,  in  the  United  States, 
produce  a  comparatively  small  part.  Our  best  barley  is 
grown  in  California,  and  we  raise  more  in 
that  state  than  in  any  other;  Iowa,  Min- 
nesota, and  Wisconsin  coming  next  in 
order.  In  1904  our  barley  crop  amounted 
to  one  hundred  and  thirty  million  bushels. 
If  we  were  attending  school  in  Germany 
or  Russia,  and  should  take  our  lunches 
with  us,  the  sandwiches  would  probably 
be  made  of  slices  of  rye  bread.  The  bread 
would  be  dark  brown  in  color ;  were  it  of 
the  German  variety  known  as  pumper- 
nickel, it  would  be  almost  black.  The 
common  bread  of  many  European  countries 
is  made  of  '  rye  flour.  The  armies  of  northern  Europe 
use  it,  and  also  the  poorer  classes  of  Austria, 
Germany,  Russia,  Norway,  and  Sweden.  It  is 
nutritious,  and  the  people  like  it  quite  as  well  as 
wheat  bread. 

The  most  of  the  world's  rye  crop  is  grown 
upon  the  great  sandy  plain  which  crosses  Europe 
from  the  North  Sea  into  Central  Russia,  sloping 
down  to  the  Baltic ;  and  more  of  it  in  Russia  than 
anywhere  else.  The  rye  crop  of  the  United 
States  is  comparatively  small.  We  produce  only 
twenty  or  thirty  million  bushels  a  year ;  our  best 
rye  states  being  Pennsylvania,  Wisconsin,  and 
New  York,  after  which  come  Nebraska,  Michigan, 
and  Minnesota.  We  use  the  grain  somewhat  for  bread, 
but  more  for  stock  feeding. 


M 


Rye. 


OTHER  GRAINS   WHICH    FEED   MILLIONS  69 

Oats  are  raised  in  the  United  States  chiefly  as  a  food 
for  domestic  animals,  although  they  are  being  eaten  more 
and  more  by  man  in  the  shape  of  oatmeal.  In  Scotland 
oatmeal  porridge  is  one  of  the  most  common  articles  of 
diet,  and  oat  cake  and  oat  crackers  are  much  liked.  Oats 
are  excellent  for  all  kinds  of  stock,  and  they  are  used 
for  stock  feeding  in  many  parts  of  the  temperate  zone. 

The  world's  crop  of  this  grain  is  enormous.  It  is  greater 
in  amount  than  that  of  any  other  cereal,  exceeding  wheat 


Harvesting  oats  in  the  United  States. 

or  corn  by  several  hundred  million  bushels  every  year. 
Our  own  crop  of  oats  is  often  more  than  one  third  as  big 
as  our  corn  crop,  and  it  is  always  greater  in  bulk  than  our 
wheat  crop.  Russia  now  competes  with  us  as  the  world's 
chief  oat  producer ;  next  come  Germany  and  France. 
Our  best  states  for  oats  are  Iowa,  Illinois,  Wisconsin, 
Minnesota,  Indiana,  Nebraska,  Pennsylvania,  New  York, 
and  Texas. 

All  the  grains  we  have  so  far  examined  are  the  seeds  of 
various  kinds  of  grasses.  We  have  one  grain  from  a 
plant  which  might  be  called  a  sister  or  cousin  of  the  snake 


70  FOODS:     OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

weed  or  dock  weed.  It  is  of  an  odd  shape,  looking  more 
like  a  miniature  beechnut  than  a  wheat  or  corn  kernel.  It 
has  a  black  coat,  but  is  white  within,  and  when  ground  up, 
it  becomes  a  grayish  white  flour,  which  is  used  to  make 
griddle  cakes.  This  grain  is  buckwheat,  and  the  cakes  are 
buckwheat  cakes.  No  doubt  most  of  us  have  eaten  them, 
served  with  butter  and  maple  molasses.  Buckwheat  can 
be  grown  on  the  poorest  of  soils.  It  thrives  in  the  temper- 
ate zones  and  is  produced  chiefly  in  the  United  States 
and  in  some  parts  of  Europe. 

It  is  wonderful  how  many  seeds  are  used  for  food. 
Every  locality  seems  to  have  one  or  more  seed  grains.  Far 
up  in  the  Andes  Mountains  near  Lake  Titicaca,  on  the  high 
plateau  of  Bolivia,  where  oats  and  wheat  will  not  mature, 
there  is  a  little  plant  known  as  quinua  (ken-wah),  the  seeds 
of  which  form  an  important  food  of  the  Indians  of  that 
region.  They  are  not  much  larger  than  the  head  of  a  pin, 
but  the  people  make  a  mush  of  them  and  eat  it  with  milk. 

As  one  travels  over  the  world,  he  finds  the  natives  of 
distant  lands  living  largely  upon  grains  which  we  feed 
only  to  sheep,  horses,  cattle,  and  hogs.  This  is  especially 
so  of  the  millets,  which  grow  in  large  quantities  in  many 
parts  of  the  world.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  more  of  the 
human  race  live  upon  millet  than  upon  any  other  cereal. 
East  India  consumes  more  millet  than  all  other  grains  put 
together.  There  are  vast  numbers  of  poor  people  in 
northern  China  who  cannot  afford  rice,  who  grind  up 
millet  for  bread  and  mush.  Millions  of  bushels  of  millet 
are  raised  in  Japan,  and  in  Bokhara,  Turkey,  and  Persia. 
It  is  also  one  of  the  chief  foods  in  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt, 
the  Sudan,  and  in  parts  of  South  Africa. 


OTHER   GRAINS   WHICH    FEED    MILLIONS 


n 


The  millets  belong  to  the  family  of  grasses,  and  chiefly 
to  such  branches  of  that  family  as  have  smaller  seeds  than 
oats,  wheat,  or  barley.  One  of  the  most  common  millets  is 
known  as  the  fox-tail,  its  long  fat  bushy  head  being  shaped 
like  the  tail  of  a  fox.  This  kind  often  grows  as  tall  as  rye, 
or  taller.  Fox-tail  millet  is  largely  used  in  our  country. 
It  is  raised  in  China,  having  been 
grown  there  for  more  than  four 
thousand  years.  So  many  seeds 
of  this  millet  have  been  found  in 
the  remains  of  the  lake  dwellers 
of  Switzerland  that  we  believe 
it  was  used  as  food  when  those 
people  lived.  This  was  during 
the  Stone  Age,  a  period  when 
man  had  not  yet  learned  to  make 
metal  tools,  and  cultivated  the  soil 
almost  exclusively  with  implements 
of  stone  and  wood. 

In  the  United  States  the  barn- 
yard millets  are  largely  grown  for 
hay,  and  similar  kinds  are  used  in 
India  and  in  other  parts  of  Asia 
for  food,  the  seeds  being  parched    or  boiled  with   milk. 

In  addition  to  these  millets,  there  are  larger  kinds 
which  we  know  by  other  names.  In  northern  Africa 
a  large  seeded  millet  is  called  durra  and  in  the  West 
Indies,  Guinea  corn.  Almost  all  of  us  see  millet  straw 
at  home  every  day,  and  many  of  our  girls  have  probably 
swept  with  such  straw  again  and  again.  I  refer  to  the 
millet    of   which  our  brooms  are  made.     This   is   called 


Fox-tail  millet. 


72 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


broom  corn.  It  grows  as  tall  as  corn,  but  branches  out 
into  many  stiff  straws  at  the  top.  Its  seeds  are  found  at 
the  ends  of  these  straws,  and  from  the  straws  brooms  are 
made.  Broom  corn  will  grow  on  any  soil 
and  in  any  climate  in  which  Indian  corn  can 
be  successfully  produced.  Certain  varieties 
have  been  cultivated  for  different  purposes 
in  India,  China,  and  parts  of  Africa  for 
some  centuries,  but  the  United  States,  Italy, 
France,  and  Germany  are  the  only  countries 
which  produce  it  solely  for  broom  straw. 

Sorghum  and  Kafir  corn 
are  other  large  millets  re- 
lated to  Indian  corn.  Kafir 
corn  thrives  in  South  Africa, 
where  it  has  long  been  culti- 
vated by  the  Kafirs,  from 
whom  it  derives  its  name. 
It  is  used  as  food  for  both 
man  and  beast.  Sorghum  is  grown  in 
Egypt  and  in  many  parts  of  Asia  for  its 
seed,  which  is  ground  up  to  make  bread. 
All  millet  seeds  are  cheaper  than  wheat, 
but  they  will  not  make  good  flour;  there- 
fore the  civilized  nations  use  them  for 
stock.  In  our  country  Kafir  corn  and 
sorghum  are  raised  for  forage,  and  sor- 
ghum is  raised  also  for  the  sweet  juice  of  its  stalk, 
which  is  squeezed  out  and  boiled  down  into  sirup 
much  like  sugar  cane,  as  we  shall  see  farther  on  in 
our  travels. 


Sorghum. 


Kafir  corn. 


ON  A  WESTERN   CATTLE   RANCH  73 


9.  ON  A  WESTERN  CATTLE  RANCH 

WE  are  up  early  this  morning.  The  sun  is  just  peep- 
ing above  the  eastern  horizon ;  but  the  long  low 
wooden  building  where  we  have  slept  over  night  is  already 
alive  with  rough-looking  men.  They  are  in  their  shirt 
sleeves,  their  trousers  are  tucked  into  their  high  boots,  and 
most  of  them  have  cruel  spurs  on  their  heels.  Each  man 
has  a  saddle,  a  bridle,  and  a  long  rope  in  his  hand.  They 
are  cowboys,  and  we  are  with  them  on  one  of  the  great 
cattle  ranches  of  the  far  West,  making  ready  for  the 
round-up  of  to-day. 

We  have  come  to  this  region  to  see  something  of  our  meat 
industry.  By  "meat"  is  meant  the  flesh  of  cattle,  pigs,  and 
sheep  ;  the  word  "  game  "  being  used  for  the  flesh  of  wild 
animals;  and  "  poultry  "  for  that  of  chickens,  geese,  ducks, 
and  other  domestic  fowl.  Meat  is  eaten  by  man  all  over 
the  world ;  and  in  our  country  it  forms  a  large  part  of  his 
daily  food.  It  is  much  dearer  than  grain,  and  nations  are 
often  considered  rich  or  poor  according  to  the  amount  of 
meat  their  people  can  afford  to  eat.  In  this  respect  our 
nation  is  one  of  the  richest  of  all.  We  raise  so  much 
meat  that  every  man,  woman,  and  child  of  us  can  have 
some  daily  and  still  leave  enough  to  export  a  large  quantity 
to  Europe  and  other  parts  of  the  world. 

Almost  every  farm  in  the  United  States  rears  some  cattle, 
hogs,  and  sheep,  so  that  we  have  a  vast  number  of  such 
animals.  Indeed,  I  should  not  like  to  have  to  count  them 
all.  It  is  enough  to  know  that  if  the  drove  could  be 
stretched  out  in  double  file,  it  would  belt  the  globe  several 


74  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

times  at  the  Equator  and  leave  enough  animals  over  to 
make  more  than  another  living,  bellowing,  bleating,  grunt- 
ing, baaing,  belt  around  the  globe,  from  pole  to  pole. 

Of  these  animals  the  most  important,  as  far  as  the  meat 
is  concerned,  are  the  cattle  and  hogs.  The  .cattle  are  the 
most  important  of  all.  They  are  worth  about  as  much  as 
all  the  rest  of  our  farm  animals  put  together,  including 
not  only  the  hogs,  sheep,  and  goats,  but  also  the  horses  and 
mules.  We  had  so  many  cattle  at  the  time  of  our  last 
census  that  if  they  could  have  been  gathered  together 
in  one  great  drove  and  divided  equally  amongst  us,  there 
would  have  been  several  such  animals  for  every  family  in 
the  United  States.  Of  this  vast  drove,  the  greater  part 
was  in  the  corn  regions..  Large  numbers  were  on  farms 
in  other  sections  of  the  country,  and  millions  were  grazing 
on  the  plains  where  we  now  are. 

Just  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  running  north  and 
south  from  Canada  to  Texas,  there  is  a  wide  strip  of  land  so 
high  and  dry  that  it  is  not  good  for  farming,  except  where 
the  few  streams  give  water  for  irrigation.  The  moisture 
is  so  squeezed  from  the  winds  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  as  they 
blow  over  the  cold  mountains,  that  only  enough  rain  is  left 
to  produce  a  thin  grass.  This  comes  up  in  the  spring  and 
is  cured,  as  it  stands,  by  the  hot  sun,  as  the  summer  goes 
on,  furnishing  a  food  upon  which  cattle  can  live  all  the  year 
round.  In  some  other  parts  of  our  country  one  or  two 
acres  will  give  enough  grass  for  a  cow  or  an  ox.  On  these 
high  plains  the  grass  is  so  thin  that  it  often  takes  fifteen  or 
more  acres  to  feed  a  single  animal,  so  that  the  cattle  are 
widely  scattered,  and  but  few  can  feed  in  one  place  at  a 
time. 


ON  A   WESTERN   CATTLE   RANCH  75 

Nevertheless,  there  is  enough  grass  on  these  plains  to 
support  a  great  cattle-rearing  industry.  Men  have  brought 
vast  herds  to  the  plains,  and  they  live  here  with  their  cow- 
boys watching  their  stock.  They  usually  establish  their 
homes  near  a  stream,  having  a  blacksmith  shop,  stables,  and 
corrals  for  ponies,  and  lodging  and  eating  houses  for  the  cow- 
boys, or  rather  cowmen,  who  take  care  of  the  cattle.  Their 
food  and  other  supplies  are  often  brought  hundreds  of  miles 
from  the  nearest  railway  station,  in  canvas-covered  wagons, 
and  the  cattle,  when  ready  for  the  market,  are  driven  to  the 
railroad,  whence  they  go  east  on  the  cars.  It  is  on  such  a 
ranch  that  we  shall  suppose  ourselves  to  be  at  this  time. 

We  step  outside  the  house  and  look  about  over  the  wide 
dreary  plain.  The  ground  is  flat,  and  we  can  see  for  miles 
on  each  side.  The  earth  is  covered  with  dry  dusty  grass. 
Here  and  there  two  or  three  cattle  are  feeding.  Near  by 
we  hear  the  neighing  of  horses.  The  sound  comes  from 
the  corral  or  yard  over  there.  See,  the  cowboys  are  bringing 
the  ponies.  There  are  two  hundred  of  them.  They  come 
kicking  and  jumping.  There  are  enough  for  the  cow- 
boys, as  well  as  one  for  each  of  us. 

Now  we  are  mounted  and  are  galloping  over  the 
plains.  The  foreman  has  divided  the  party  and  given 
each  man  his  own  work  to  do.  We  circle  about,  driving 
the  cattle,  which  feed  in  little  groups  or  singly,  here  and 
there,  to  the  center.  There  are  also  cowmen  from  other 
ranches  about  the  country  doing  the  same,  so  that  by  noon 
thousands  of  cattle  are  gathered  together. 

We  eat  dinner,  supplied  by  the  cook's  wagon,  sitting  flat 
on  the  ground,  and  then  take  fresh  ponies  which  have 
been  brought  from  the  corral  to  aid  in  the  round-up. 


76 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


The  purpose  of  the  round-up  is  to  divide  the  cattle 
among  their  owners  and  to  mark  every  one,  so  that  it  can- 
not be  lost.  In  this  great  ranching  country  there  are  no 
fences.  The  most  of  the  land  belongs  to  the  government, 
and  cattle  may  be  grazed  anywhere,  provided  they  can 
have  water.     The    lands   along    the^  streams  are  usually 


4;  ^WMJR'ii'^ 

>**7 

feaA-qa^i  ....  ***** 

Cowboys  at  dinner. 


owned  by  the  ranchmen,  who,  having  the  water,  in  this 
way  control  large  tracts  of  dry  country. 

The  animals  thus  run  wild  ;  they  stray  far  from  their 
homes  and  get  with  other  cattle,  so  that  it  is  only  by  mark- 
ing them  in  some  way  that  a  man  can  keep  track  of  his 
own.  This  is  done  by  branding  or  burning  a  letter  or 
other  mark  into  the  skin  of  the  animal  when  it  is  a  calf. 
After  that  the  brand  will  stay  as  long  as  the  animal  lives. 
The  round-ups  are  to  bring  all  the  cattle  together,  in  order 
that  each  man  may  pick  out  his  own,  and  every  one  have 


ON  A   WESTERN   CATTLE   RANCH  J  J 

his  calves,  born  since  the  last  round-up,  branded  with  his 
own  mark. 

The  cowboys  are  now  in  the  saddle,  and  the  work  is 
beginning.  How  noisy  it  is !  The  bulls  are  bellowing,  the 
cows  lowing,  and  the  calves  bleating  for  their  mothers.  The 
cattle  are  stamping  and  pushing  this  way  and  that.  The 
air  is  filled  with  dust  made  by  the  stock  and  the  ponies. 


A  round-up. 

The  cowboys  circle  round  and  round,  keeping  the  great 
drove  together.  Now  they  ride  in  and  pick  out  their  own 
stock,  selecting  the  animals  by  the  brands  upon  them.  By 
and  by  the  cattle  are  separated,  and  the  branding  begins. 

Some  of  the  crew  have  built  a  fire  at  one  side,  and  in 
this  they  are  heating  long  irons  red-hot.  Men  with  lassos 
are  getting  out  the  little  long-legged  calves.  They  ride 
about  among  the  cattle  chasing  the  calves.  When  one  darts 
for  the  open,  a  cowboy  gallops  after  him,  and,  with  a  sweep- 
ing throw,  sends  his  rope  in  such  a  way  that  it  catches  the 


7* 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


calf  around  the  hind  legs.  The  well-trained  pony  stops 
short  and  braces  itself ;  for  the  lasso  is  tied  to  its  saddle. 
The  calf  tries  to  run  and  is  pulled  by  the  rope  to  the 
ground.  It  is  now  dragged  to  the  fire.  One  of  the  brand- 
ing party  grabs  it  by  the  ears  and  sits  down  on  its  neck. 
Another  pulls  out  one  of  its  hind  legs,  so  as  to  make  the 


Branded  with  the  brand  of  its  mother. 


skin  tight;  while  a  third  takes  the  red-hot  iron  from  the 
fire  and  quickly  presses  it  upon  the  live  flesh.  There  is  a 
smoking,  hissing,  and  sizzling,  as  the  iron  burns  through 
the  hair  deep  into  the  skin.  From  now  on  the  hair  will 
not  grow  on  that  spot,  and  the  calf  will  be  marked  to  the 
end  of  its  days.     The  branding  takes  but  a  moment,  and 


ON   A   WESTERN   CATTLE   RANCH  79 

the  calf  is  then  loosened  and  runs  off  to  let  its  mother 
console  it  by  licking  the  wound.  The  ownership  of  the 
calf  can  easily  be  told  from  its  mother;  the  cows  know 
their  own  calves  quite  as  well  as  our  mothers  know  us, 
and  at  the  round-up  each  calf  is  branded  with  the  brand  of 
its  mother.  At  the  same  time  a  record  of  the  act  is  made 
in  the  stock  book  of  the  ranch. 

We  watch  them  branding  other  calves  in  the  same  way. 
The  work  goes  on  for  days,  the  cattle  being  carefully 
guarded  at  night,  until  at  last  all  are  branded,  and  each 
man  has  his  own. 

What  we  have  seen  is  but  one  feature  of  the  great 
industry  of  providing  beef  for  our  tables.  We  might 
spend  weeks  on  the  plains,  observing  something  new  every 
day.  We  would  be  interested  in  selecting  the  cattle  for 
shipment,  in  driving  them  to  the  stations,  and  in  riding 
with  the  stock  to  Omaha,  Kansas  City,  or  Chicago. 

Such  ranching  is  largely  carried  on  in  Montana,  Wyo- 
ming, Colorado,  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and  Texas.  There 
are  also  many  cattle  in  the  Indian  Territory  and  in  parts 
of  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  the  Dakotas.  In  Texas  much 
of  the  stock-grazing  country  is  composed  of  lands  belong- 
ing to  the  state,  which  have  been  set  aside  for  the  support 
of  the  public  schools.  They  are  leased  by  the  year  or  ten 
years  to  cattle  men  for  only  a  few  cents  per  acre,  but  there 
is  so  much  of  this  land  that  it  brings  in  a  vast  sum. 

One  of  the  largest  cattle  ranches  of  the  world  is  in 
Texas.  It  would  take  us  more  than  a  week  to  ride  on 
horseback  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other  ;  for  it  is  more 
than  two  hundred  miles  long,  and  ten  miles  wide,  and  all  to- 
gether is  larger  than  the  whole  state  of  Connecticut.    The 


80  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

company  which  owns  this  land  obtained  it  in  an  odd  way. 
Texas  wanted  a  new  state  house,  and  the  men  who  have 
since  made  this  ranch  offered  to  furnish  the  money  and 
build  it  if  the  state  would  grant  them  this  land.  Their 
offer  was  accepted,  and  the  state  house  was  built.  Their 
land  has  so  increased  in  value  that  the  undertaking  has 
proved  to  be  a  very  profitable  one.     They  have  put  wire 


On  a  western  ranch. 

fences  about  the  ranch   and  are  grazing  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  cattle  upon  it 

There  are  many  other  large  ranches  throughout  the 
west,  where  the  lands  belong  to  private  parties,  and  not 
to  the  state  or  government.  Such  ranches  are  often 
fenced  with  wire,  and  some  of  them  have  the  top  wires  of 
the  fence  so  fixed  that  they  can  be  used  for  telephoning 
from  one  part  of  the  estate  to  the  other.  A  big  ranch  is 
managed  like  a  great  store  or  factory,  a  careful  account 
being  kept  of  everything.  The  cowboys  work  under 
foremen,  and  the  cattle  are  carefully  watched  from  the 
time  they  are  born  until  they  are  ready  to  be  shipped  to 
the  markets. 


ON   A   WESTERN   CATTLE    RANCH  8 1 

As  we  ride  over  the  plains,  cattle  rearing  seems  an  easy 
business,  and  we  find  ourselves  wishing  we  could  be  ranch- 
men or  even  cowboys.  We  watch  the  skill  with  which  the 
men  ride  their  bucking,  kicking  ponies,  and  we  delight  in 
the  races  and  jollity  at  the  round-ups.  If  we  should  stay 
long,  however,  we  might  find  that  the  stockman's  life  is 
by  no  means  all  fun.  He  must  be  out  in  the  snow,  watch- 
ing the  cattle  to  see  that  they  are  not  lost  or  do  not  starve 
in  the  storms  and  blizzards.  He  often  has  to  ride  all  day 
and  to  sleep  out  in  the  open  air ;  and  there  are  sometimes 
prairie  fires,  when  both  cowboys  and  cattle  must  run  for 
their  lives.  To  guard  against  the  spread  of  such  fires,  wide 
roads  are  sometimes  made  across  the  prairies  or  around 
the  ranches. 

There  is  also  danger  of  losing  the  cattle  by  diseases  and 
by  wolves,  panthers,  and  other  wild  animals.  The  little 
prairie  dogs  dig  holes  in  the  ground,  where  they  live  in 
prairie  dog  villages  with  their  little  dog  families.  They 
eat  up  the  pasture ;  for  twenty  dogs  will  consume  as  much 
grass  as  one  sheep.  They  are  sometimes  killed  by  the 
cowboys,  who  drop  poison  into  the  holes.  Rattlesnakes 
make  their  homes  in  these  holes ;  and  if  one  of  the  cattle 
steps  in,  it  may  be  bitten  by  a  snake,  or  may  break  its  leg 
before  it  gets  out. 

Although  millions  of  cattle  are  reared  on  these  ranches, 
we  must  not  suppose  that  they  form  the  chief  meat  supply 
of  our  country.  Many  more  animals  are  kept  on  farms 
than  on  ranches.  The  great  corn  belt  raises  far  more 
beef  than  any  other  part  of  our  country ;  and  the  animals 
reared  farther  west  are  often  brought  to  the  corn  states  to 
be  fattened  before  they  are  shipped  to  Omaha,  Chicago, 

FOODS 6 


82  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

Kansas  City,  or  other  meat-packing  centers.  Some  are 
sent  in  fast  stock  express  cars  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
whence  they  are  shipped  to  Europe.  They  are  carefully 
treated  on  the  cars  and  steamers.  One  man  has  charge 
of  a  certain  number  of  animals,  and  stays  with  them  all  the 
time,  to  see  that  they  get  plenty  of  water  and  feed ;  so  that 
when  they  land  they  will  be  in  good  condition  for  sale. 

This  business  is  so  enormous  that  cars  and  ships  are 
built  especially  for  it,  and  a  drove  of  live  beeves  is  always 
moving  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  our  continent 
to  Europe.  The  larger  part  of  the  drove  goes  to  the 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  which 
countries,  also,  as  we  shall  see  later,  buy  a  vast  deal 
of  fresh  beef,  killed  in  America,  and  sent  abroad  in  cold 
storage. 

Indeed,  our  meat  industry  is  so  important  that  the  great- 
est of  care  is  taken  in  rearing  fine  stock  and  in  transport- 
ing it  to  the  places  where  it  is  consumed.  There  are  some 
breeds  of  cattle  which  will  produce  more  and  better  beef 
than  others,  and  our  ranchmen  and  farmers  are  always 
trying  to  get  the  best  stock. 

There  are  in  the  world  about  one  hundred  different 
breeds  of  cattle.  Some  are  large,  and  some  small;  some 
are  especially  good  for  meat,  and  others  for  the  rich  milk 
they  produce.  In  India  there  are  cattle  with  great  humps 
on  their  backs,  which  some  of  the  people  worship,  and 
which  others  use  as  draft  animals  and  for  food.  The 
best  of  all  kinds  of  modern  beef  cattle  come  from  England 
and  elsewhere  in  northern  Europe.  We  have  imported 
many  such  cattle,  and  they  now  form  a  large  part  of  our 
stock. 


ON  A  WESTERN  CATTLE   RANCH  83 

The  first  cattle  brought  to  America  came  with  Columbus 
to  the  West  Indies  in  1493.  Some  of  their  offspring  were 
taken  to  Mexico,  whence  they  spread  northward  and  became 
the  forefathers  of  the  Texas  cattle  of  to-day.  Others  were 
brought  by  the  Spaniards  to  Florida.  Later  still  a  great 
many  fine  cattle  were  brought  from  England  and  Holland 
to  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Virginia,  and  other  colonies. 
From  that  time  until  the  present  we  have  been  improving 
our  cattle  by  importations  from  European  countries,  par- 
ticularly from  England  and  Holland,  these  two  countries 
being  the  homes  of  some  of  the  best  dairy,  as  well  as  beef 
cattle,  in  the  world. 

No  other  country  exports  so  much  meat  as  the  United 
States.  In  the  year  ending  June  30,  1904,  we  sold  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars'  worth  of  meat  to 
foreign  countries,  and  in  addition  many  live  cattle.  We 
then  sent  three  hundred  and  eighty-seven  thousand  caftle 
and  almost  three  hundred  million  pounds  of  beef  to  the 
United  Kingdom,  which  is  our  principal  customer.  The 
chief  other  countries  which  furnish  meat  to  Europe  are 
Australia,  New  Zealand,  Canada,  and  Argentina;  but  all 
of  these,  except  Canada,  furnish  more  mutton  than  beef, 
and  the  Canadian  exports  largely  consist  of  the  bacon  for 
which  that  country  is  noted. 

There  is  a  considerable  shipment  of  cattle  in  Europe 
from  one  country  to  another ;  and  in  South  America  they  are 
largely  exported  from  Peru,  Chile,  Argentina,  and  southern 
Brazil.  At  many  of  the  ports  of  that  grand  division  the 
shipping  facilities  are  poor,  and  the  cattle  are  loaded  and 
unloaded  in  slings,  and  sometimes  they  are  raised  into  the 
ships  by  ropes  attached  to  their  horns. 


84  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


10.    A  VISIT  TO  A  GREAT  PACKING  CENTER 

WE  have  come  from  the  West  to  Chicago  with  a  load 
of  fat  cattle,  to  see  how  they  are  turned  into  meat 
for  our  tables.  Our  train  had  troughs  of  fresh  water 
fastened  to  each  side  of  the  cars,  for  drink  on  the  way,  and 
we  traveled  at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  in  order  to  reach  the 


Union  Stock  Yards,  Chicago. 

market  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  We  rode  in  the  ca- 
boose, a  rough  sleeping  car  at  the  rear  of  the  train,  with 
the  cowboys  who  fed  the  stock  and  looked  them  over  at 
every  stop  to  see  that  all  were  well. 

Upon  arriving  in  Chicago  we  came  direct  to  the  Union 
Stock  Yards,  in  the  heart  of  the  city  ;  and  here  we  are  now, 
in  the  biggest  cattle  market  and  the  chief  meat-packing 
center  of  the  world.     Our  beeves  are  already  unloaded, 


A  VISIT  TO  A  GREAT   PACKING   CENTER  85 

and  they  will  rest  in  the  feeding  pens  for  twenty-four 
hours  before  they  are  offered  for  sale. 

But  let  us  learn  something  about  meat  packing,  or  the 
industry  which  relates  to  the  killing  of  cattle,  hogs,  and 
sheep,  and  the  fitting  of  their  flesh  for  food  or  for  sale  in 
our  markets,  or  for  shipment  to  other  parts  of  the  world. 
Meat  packing  is  one  of  the  largest  businesses  of  the  United 
States.  A  vast  capital  is  invested  in  it,  and  its  product  in 
one  year  has  amounted  to  almost  eight  hundred  million 
dollars.  It  employs  thousands  of  people  at  the  packing 
centers,  and  thousands  more  in  our  towns  and  cities  to 
handle  the  meats.  The  products  are  so  widely  distributed 
that  it  requires  a  vast  number  of  cars  and  ships  to  carry 
them  ;  there  is  hardly  a  provision  store  in  our  country 
which  does  not  sell  some  of  them  ;  and  there  are  few  of 
our  people  who  do  not  consume,  in  one  shape  or  another, 
some  of  the  animals,  thus  killed,  every  day. 

We  have  already  learned  how  cattle  were  first  brought  to 
this  country.  Some  of  those  imported  by  Sir  Ralph  Lane 
from  the  West  Indies,  in  1610,  were  considered  so  valuable 
for  breeding  that  it  was  forbidden  to  slaughter  them  on 
pain  of  death,  and  others  which  arrived  later  were  carefully 
cared  for.  The  stock  throve,  and  as  time  passed  on  there 
were  plenty  for  killing.  The  farmers  raised  their  own 
meat,  and  drovers  brought  live  animals  to  the  towns 
and  cities  and  sold  them  to  the  butchers.  As  the 
pioneers  moved  westward,  they  took  cattle  with  them, 
and  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Kentucky  soon  became  stock- 
raising  centers. 

At  first  the  meat  was  eaten  only  where  it  was  killed. 
Each  town  had  its  slaughter  houses,  and  all  fresh  meats 


86  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

were  prepared  by  the  local  butchers,  just  as  is  done  in  out- 
of-the-way  places  all  over  our  country  to-day.  Then  men 
began  to  cure  pork  for  shipment  to  other  localities ;  and,  in 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  Cincinnati,  which  at  that  time 
was  the  center  of  our  corn  belt,  had  a  large  business  in 
killing  hogs  and  sending  cured  pork  by  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Rivers  to  New  Orleans,  and  around  by  sea  to 
our  Atlantic  ports. 

As  railroads  were  built,  the  packing  industry  increased. 
Pork  was  then  shipped  in  every  direction,  and  meat  pack- 
ing extended  westward,  with  the  growth  of  the  country, 
until,  at  about  the  time  of  our  Civil  War,  it  had  become  a 
great  industry  in  Chicago.  Later  still,  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  corn  belt,  packing  centers  sprang  up  at  St. 
Louis,  St.  Joseph,  Kansas  City,  and  South  Omaha.  But 
Chicago,  all  the  while,  held  its  own  and  steadily  increased 
its  business,  until  now  it  is  the  chief  pork-packing  center 
of  the  world. 

Long  before  this,  however,  the  industry  had  been 
widened  so  as  to  include  all  sorts  of  fresh  meats.  At  the 
beginning  the  only  meat  packed  was  that  which  could  be 
dried  or  salted.  Beef  treated  in  this  way  was  put  into 
barrels  and  shipped  to  our  eastern  markets,  and  from  them 
it  was  sent  on  ships  all  over  the  world.  Then  it  was  dis- 
covered that  if  meat  were  kept  in  very  cold  rooms,  it  not 
only  could  be  preserved  fresh  for  a  long  time,  but  it  would 
be  better  for  eating  when  taken  out,  than  it  was  when  freshly 
killed.  It  was  also  found  that  all  meat  could  be  better  cured 
if  it  were  properly  chilled  first.  Artificial  methods  of  re- 
frigeration or  cooling  were  then  invented,  and  these  inven- 
tions form  the  basis  of  the  great  meat-packing  industry  of 


A  VISIT  TO  A  GREAT   PACKING  CENTER 


87 


to-day.  By  them  meat  can  be  killed  throughout  the  year 
and  carried  fresh  in  refrigerator  cars  all  over  the  country. 
Even  in  the  hottest  weather  it  can  be  taken  to  the  sea- 
board and  carried  in  cold  rooms  across  the  ocean  to 
Europe.  Meat  so  stored  will  stay  fresh  for  days,  weeks, 
and  months ;    so  that  when  it  reaches  the  dinner  tables  of 


ItiitSt 

n  H 

iasm 

■'■•-•_..  '/ft]      ft 

r 

. .  ' 

Cold  storage  beef  in  a  packing  house. 

our  country  or  of  Europe  it  is  just  as  good  as  when  it  was' 
killed  in  Chicago.  We  are  now  sending  several  hundred 
million  pounds  of  fresh  beef  yearly  across  the  Atlantic ; 
and  most  of  the  fresh  meats  eaten  in  our  own  towns  and 
cities  come  from  animals  killed  some  days  before  in  our 
great  packing  centers. 

Let  us  take  a  walk  through  the  stock  yards.     They  are 
in  the  heart  of  Chicago,  but  we  seem  to  be  in  a  city  of 


88  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

animals  rather  than  of  men.  The  air  is  filled  with  the 
bellowing  of  steers,  the  lowing  of  cows,  the  bleating  of 
calves,  the  baaing  of  sheep,  and  the  shrill  squealing  of 
pigs.  There  are  thousands  upon  thousands  of  these  ani- 
mals all  about  us ;  great  droves  of  them  are  being  taken 
out  of  the  cars;  and  tens  of  thousands  are  moving  this 
way  and  that,  on  their  way  to  be  sold  or  killed. 

We  climb  to  the  roof  of  a  tall  building  at  one  side,  and 
look  down.  Pens  filled  with  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep  reach 
far  out  on  all  sides.  The  pens  are  arranged  along  streets 
which  cross  one  another  at  right  angles ;  and  we  are  told 
that  there  are  twenty  miles  of  such  streets.  The  city  has 
its  own  sections  and  wards,  each  with  its  own  class  of  four- 
footed  citizens.  There  is  one  section  devoted  to  cattle.  It 
has  several  hundred  beasts  in  each  pen.  Farther  over  is  a 
section  of  sheep,  where  thousands  of  woolly  creatures  are 
bleating  and  baaing ;  and  here  at  our  feet  is  an  army  of  fat 
porkers,  some  contentedly  grunting  and  others  squealing 
like  mad. 

Notice  the  pens.  Each  has  a  trough  for  water  and  an- 
other for  food.  There  are  miles  of  such  troughs  and 
many  miles  of  drainage  and  water  pipes.  The  water  for 
the  stock  comes  from  artesian  wells,  driven  twelve  hundred 
feet  down  into  the  ground,  far  below  the  level  of  Lake 
Michigan ;  and  the  food  is  the  best  that  can  be  procured. 
See  the  railroad  tracks  which  extend  out  on  each  side. 
There  are  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  them  in  and  about 
the  stock  yards.  Those  long  trains  coming  in  are  bring- 
ing new  animals,  while  those  going  out  contain  refrigerat- 
ing cars,  carrying  the  meats  and  other  packed  products 
to  all  parts  of  the  country. 


A  VISIT  TO  A  GREAT  PACKING  CENTER 


89 


These  buildings  in  the  center,  which  rise  high  over  the 
pens,  are  where  the  rulers  of  this  city  live.  They  form 
the  exchange  where  the  stockmen  and  packers  come  to- 
gether to  buy  and  sell  the  four-footed  citizens.  These 
men  handle  tens  of  millions  of  hogs,  cattle,  and  sheep 
every  year.  The  animals  in  the  pens  are  changed  daily. 
Those  we  see  now  will  be  dead  by  this  time  to-morrow,  and 
another  horde  will  have  taken  their  places.     Those  hogs 


Cattle  being  driven  to  the  pens. 


down  in  the  street  are  on  their  way  to  be  slaughtered,  and 
the  wild-eyed  oxen  which  are  surging  this  way  and  that, 
just  below  us,  will  all  be  killed  before  nightfall. 

The  chief  selling  time  is  in  the  morning.  Then  the 
streets  are  filled  with  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep,  being  driven 
by  men  from  one  place  to  another.  Some  of  the  drovers 
are  on  horseback  and  some  on  foot.  How  they  yell  at  the 
beasts  and  crack  their  great  whips !     The  agents  of  the 


90  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

big  packing  houses  are  moving  about,  looking  over  the 
stock.  They  buy  at  a  glance ;  and  the  sellers  jot  down 
the  purchases  in  their  notebooks  and  are  paid  later  on. 
After  the  selling  hours  are  over,  the  animals  are  weighed, 
and  then  taken  off  to  the  great  meat  factories  or  to  other 
pens  to  await  their  time  to  be  slaughtered. 

We  go  down  and  walk  about  the  stock  yards  and 
then  enter  one  of  the  packing  houses  near  by,  follow- 
ing some  beeves  about  to  be  killed.  The  animals  are 
driven  up  an  inclined  roadway  to  the  upper  stories,  so 
that  gravity  may  be  used  in  handling  the  product,  and 
the  meat  be  ready  for  shipment  when  it  again  reaches  the 
ground. 

We  go  ahead  to  where  the  killing  is  done.  As  the 
cattle  come  up,  they  are  inclosed  in  a  pen,  about  which, 
on  a  platform,  a  bare-armed  man  walks,  holding  a  long- 
handled  hammer.  Only  a  few  animals  are  let  in  at  a  time, 
and  the  pen  is  so  small  they  are  jammed  close  together. 
The  man  strikes  them  on  the  head  one  by  one  a  single 
blow  with  the  hammer,  killing  them  instantly.  As  the 
cattle  in  the  pen  fall  down,  the  floor  drops  a  little,  and 
they  roll  out  on  to  the  cement  pavement  below ;  and  the 
floor  goes  back,  for  the  slaughter  of  others. 

Each  of  the  dead  animals  is  now  hooked  by  the  hind 
leg  to  a  pulley  and  raised,  head  downward,  to  a  wheel,  which 
runs  on  a  track  overhead  to  the  other  departments  of  the 
factory.  As  it  goes  on  past  man  after  man,  each  does 
something  to  help  fit  the  carcass  for  beef.  One  butcher 
cuts  the  throat  to  let  out  the  blood,  which  must  be  saved  to 
make  fertilizer  ;  others  clean  the  carcass ;  and  others  take 
off  the  skin,  hoofs,  and  horns,  all  of  which  are  saved  for 


A  VISIT  TO  A  GREAT   PACKING  CENTER 


91 


oil,  glue,  leather,  or  some  other  useful  thing, —  not  an  ounce 
of  the  animal  goes  to  waste. 

When  the  carcass  is  ready  for  beef,  it  is  divided  along 
the  backbone,  making  two  sides,  in  which  shape  it  is  sold. 
It  is  now  not  more  than  twenty  minutes  since  the  steer 
was  killed,  but  it  has  already  passed  through  the  hands  of 


Canning  beef. 


about  twenty  men.  The  meat  has  yet  to  go  through  many 
other  processes  before  it  will  be  ready  for  eating.  If  it  is 
to  be  canned,  it  travels  to  the  departments  where  it  is 
trimmed,  cooked,  and  sealed  up  in  tin  cans,  each  of  which 
has  a  bright-colored  wrapper  pasted  upon  it. 

If  the  beef  is  to  be  sold  fresh,  it  first  slides  along  on  over- 


92  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

head  trolley  tracks  into  a  great  refrigerating  chamber,  so 
large  that  it  will  hold  ten  thousand  sides  of  beef  at  one 
time,  and  so  cold  that  the  temperature  is  just  above  freez- 
ing. There  it  remains  forty-eight  hours,  and  becomes 
chilled  through  and  firm  to  the  touch.  It  next  travels  on 
a  track  down  to  the  ground  floor,  where  it  is  cut  into 
quarters  and  loaded  into  cold  storage  cars,  which  will  take 
it  to  the  butchers  of  Boston,  New  York,  or  other  cities 
or  towns.  The  meat  is  hung  upon  hooks  from  the  ceil- 
ing of  the  cars,  and  the  cars,  when  loaded,  are  shut  tight 
and  not  opened  until  they  reach  their  destination. 

If  the  meat  is  to  be  shipped  across  the  Atlantic,  it  is 
transferred  at  the  ports  to  which  it  is  sent  by  rail  to  the 
cold  storage  chambers  in  the  holds  of  the  steamers.  From 
seven  to  twelve  days  are  required  to  carry  it  over  the  ocean  ; 
and  it  is  sold  as  fresh  meat  in  Europe  about  three  weeks 
after  it  leaves  Chicago. 

II.    HOGS   AND    PORK   PACKING 

AS  we  passed  through  the  corn  belt,  we  saw  something 
of  the  hog  industry  of  the  United  States.  About 
one  third  of  our  corn  crop  is  used  to  make  pork,  and 
although  hogs  are  raised  everywhere,  the  corn  belt  pro- 
duces more  pork  than  any  other  part  of  our  country. 
In  1900,  when  a  census,  or  count,  of  all  our  animals  was 
made,  it  was  estimated  that  the  United  States  had  more 
than  sixty-two  million  hogs.  If  they  had  been  equally 
divided,  there  would  have  been  about  four  hogs  to  every 
family,  including  a  sucking  pig  for  each  of  the  babies. 


OF  ^J 

S£4k££§S^IIOGS   AND   PORK    PACKING 


93 


These  pigs  are  of  such  enormous  value  that  if  all  the 
gold  that  is  taken  out  of  the  earth  in  any  one  year  could 
be  coined,  it  would  not  be  enough  to  pay  for  the  pork 
products  we  make  in  that  year.  We  raise  more  hogs 
than  any  other  country.  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary 
come  next,  but  our  product  is  greater  than  that  of  both 
those    countries   combined.      We  raise   all   the    pork  we 


^^^R^Jr      "t> 

* 

One  third  of  our  corn  crop  is  used  to  make  pork. 


need  for  ourselves  and  supply  a  vast  quantity  to  other 
nations  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  In  1905  we  ex- 
ported more  than  a  billion  pounds  of  pork  and  other  hog 
products,  and  received,  therefor,  more  than  one  hundred 
million  dollars  in  money.  We  ship  a  great  deal  to  Eng- 
land, France,  Holland,  Germany,  and  other  parts  of 
Europe  ;  we  send  some  to  Africa,  and  also  to  Australia, 
Asia,  the  West  Indies,  and  South  America.  Our  pork  is 
eaten  in  Alaska  and  in  the  Philippine  Islands ;  and  there  is 


94  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

scarcely  a  great  steamship  which  crosses  the  ocean  that 
has  not  some  of  it  on  board. 

Pork  is  raised,  however,  by  nearly  all  nations.  The  hog 
seems  to  be  a  native  of  most  parts  of  Europe  and  Asia. 
He  came  to  this  continent  with  our  forefathers,  and  has 
grown  as  rapidly  in  number  as  have  his  human  owners. 
He  is  now  found  throughout  North  and  South  America. 
In  Canada  he  eats  field  peas ;  in  Cuba  and  in  other  islands 
of  the  West  Indies  he  thrives  on  palm  nuts;  in  the  Philip- 
pines, Samoa,  and  Guam  on  cocoanut  meats ;  and  in  parts 
of  the  Chinese  Empire  on  sweet  potatoes  and  chestnuts. 

In  no  other  place,  however,  is  pork  packed  in  such  vast 
quantities  as  in  Chicago.  ,  This  city  does  such  a  big  busi- 
ness in  hogs  that  it  is  sometimes  called  Porkopolis,  or  the 
city  of  pork.  A  larger  proportion  of  the  meat  packing 
about  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  where  we  have  been  in- 
specting cattle  and  beef,  is  devoted  to  hogs  and  pork 
products,  and  the  very  establishment  in  which  we  saw  the 
cattle  killed  also  slaughters  hundreds  of  hogs  every  hour. 

The  managers  tell  us  that  pork  packing  is  quite  as 
interesting  as  beef  packing,  and  we  ask  to  be  shown 
through  this  branch  of  the  factory.  We  first  go  to  where 
the  hogs  are  brought  in  fresh  from  the  cars,  on  their  way 
to  be  slaughtered.  They  have  not  rested  twenty-four 
hours  to  cool  off,  as  the  cattle  had,  before  being  slaugh- 
tered, and  they  look  hot  and  tired.  Some  are  so  fat  that 
they  cannot  move  fast,  and  all  are  grunting  and  squealing 
as  the  drovers  force  them  this  way  and  that.  The  first 
process  is  cooling  them  off.  This  is  done  by  sprinkling 
them  with  ice  water,  giving  each  a  cold  bath  before 
killing. 


HOGS   AND    PORK   PACKING  95 

After  this,  the  hogs  move  onward  to  a  great  solid  wheel 
which  stands  upright  with  chains  fastened  here  and  there 
on  the  rim.  As  each  hog  comes  in,  a  chain  is  attached  to 
one  of  his  hind  legs,  and,  as  the  wheel  revolves,  he  is  slowly 
raised,  kicking  and  squealing,  from  the  ground.  The  hogs 
follow  each  other  closely ;  so  that  there  is  a  continuous 


Pork  packing  in  Chicago. 

line  of  squealing  porkers  always  moving  from  the  floor 
to  the  ceiling.  As  each  hog  nears  the  top,  he  is  auto- 
matically taken  off  the  wheel,  and  hung,  head  downward, 
on  a  hook  which  slides  on  a  sloping  rail.  This  takes  him 
on  to  the  butcher,  who  cuts  his  throat.  A  little  later  the 
carcass  is  dropped  into  a  tank  of  steaming  hot  water, 
and  then  dragged  up  to  a  tower,  where  the  bristles  are 


g6  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

scraped  off  by  machinery,  and  the  pork  comes  out  pink 
and  white. 

The  carcass  is  now  raised  to  a  hook,  and,  like  the  beef, 
is  carried  on  an  overhead  track  to  be  dressed  and  cut  up 
for  the  market.  It  has  to  move  rapidly,  for  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  other  carcasses  behind  it,  and  thousands  must  pass 
over  this  track  in  the  course  of  a  day.  As  it  goes  by  the 
workmen,  each  does  his  part ;  one  cuts  it  in  halves,  one 
trims  off  a  bit  here,  another  a  bit  there  ;  and  within  twelve 
minutes  it  passes  into  the  refrigerating  room,  where  it 
hangs  for  two  days. 

After  this  the  pork,  now  cold  and  stiff,  is  taken  out  and 
started  on  another  journey  on  the  trolley  rail.  It  goes  to 
the  chopping  block,  where  the  sides  are  cut  into  halves,  the 
hams  going  one  way,  and  the  shoulders  another. 

If  we  follow  these  halves,  we  shall  find  that  the  work  of 
cutting  has  only  begun.  The  pieces  are  divided  again  and 
again.  Such  of  the  meat  as  is  to  be  eaten  fresh  goes  into 
the  refrigerating  cars,  and  is  shipped  to  the  markets  all 
over  the  country.  That  which  is  to  be  cured  —  and  this  is 
usually  nine  tenths  of  the  hog  —  is  cut  into  different  shapes. 
The  hams,  shoulders,  bacon,  and  some  other  cuts  are 
salted  or  put  in  pickle  to  be  cured.  They  often  remain 
there  for  several  weeks,  after  which  they  are  taken  out 
and  smoked  in  great  ovens,  where  thousands  of  hams, 
tongues,  dried  beef,  and  bacon  are  cured  at  one  time.  After 
smoking,  the  hams  and  bacon  are  put  up  in  canvas,  for 
shipment  to  the  markets. 

The  other  parts  of  the  hog  are  treated  by  various  meth- 
ods, each  part  being  prepared  for  some  kind  of  food.  Saus- 
age is  made  of  the  trimmings  from  the  hams  and  the  cuts 


HOGS  AND   PORK   PACKING  97 

from  the  butchers'  benches  and  the  killing  rooms;  the 
meat  being^chopped,  mixed,  and  stuffed  by  machinery. 
Spices,  pepper,  salt,  and  ginger  are  put  in,  and  some- 
times a  little  potato  flour  and  water.  The  sausage  meat 
is  forced  into  the  skins  of  the  intestines  of  the  hog  by 
great  machines,  which  work  so  rapidly  that  they  fill  about 
a  mile  of  skins  in  one  minute.  The  sausages  are  delivered 
upon  a  table,  at  which  stand  several  men  who  tie  them  in 
links.     They  are  then  ready  for  sale. 

The  fat  of  the  hog  also  forms  an  important  article  of 
commerce.  It  is  known  as  lard.  We  ship  large  quanti- 
ties of  it  abroad.  It  is  taken  chiefly  from  the  parts  of 
the  hog  not  used  for  food,  the  fat  being  rendered  out.  In 
1904  we  exported  almost  three  hundred  million  pounds  of 
lard  to  the  United  Kingdom  alone. 

In  meat  packing  every  part  of  the  animal  is  saved  for 
some  purpose.  The  workmen  tell  us  they  can  use  all  of  the 
ox  but  its  kick,  and  every  bit  of  the  pig  but  its  squeal. 
The  blood  of  the  animals  is  used  to  make  fertilizer, 
albumen,  and  stock  feed,  and  also  for  sizing  paper  and  for 
refining  sugar.  The  hides  are  turned  into  leather  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  and  the  hair  into  camel's-hair  pencils  and  shoddy, 
a  sort  of  cloth.  The  hip  bones,  horns,  and  shoulder  blades 
are  made  into  hairpins,  combs,  and  buttons  ;  the  thigh 
bones  into  handles  for  toothbrushes  and  knives ;  while 
the  skulls,  jawbones,  and  teeth  are  sold  to  bone  burners 
and  bone  grinders.  The  marrow,  as  well  as  the  hoofs  and 
horns,  are  made  into  glue ;  while  the  tails  give  hair  for 
cushions  and  mattresses.  The  bristles  of  the  hog  are  used 
for  brushes  of  various  kinds ;  and  from  the  lining  of  its 
stomach  comes  pepsin,  which  the  doctors  give  us  to  aid 

FOODS  —  7 


98  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

our  digestion.  From  the  fats,  soaps  of  all  kinds  are  made, 
as  well  as  oleomargarine,  which  takes  the  place  of  butter. 
Some  parts  of  the  beef  are  canned  in  the  form  of  soup, 
and  from  other  parts  are  made  the  liquid  beef  extracts 
which  are  given  to  invalids. 

Even  the  dirt  and  refuse  are  sold  as  fertilizers,  and  from 
other  waste  is  made  cyanide  of  potassium,  a  chemical  of 
great  value  in  gold  mining.  Indeed,  the  by-products  of 
modern  meat  packing  are  of  such  importance  that  every 
large  factory  has  a  scientific  workshop  connected  with  it, 
where  skilled  chemists  are  always  experimenting,  trying 
to  discover  new  uses  for  parts  of  the  animals  which  once 
went  to  waste. 

12.    MUTTON 

WE  have  left  the  United  States  and  are  traveling  far 
south  of  the  Equator,  in  the  southern  part  of  New 
Zealand.  We  have  come  here  to  learn  about  raising  mut- 
ton for  the  markets  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  New 
Zealand  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  world  from  Great 
Britain,  and  it  is  so  far  south  of  the  Equator  that,  by  way 
of  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  it  is  twelve  thousand  miles  or 
more  from  the  markets  of  England.  Nevertheless,  the 
modern  arrangements  for  shipping  are  such  that  sheep  in 
a  frozen  state  can  be  carried  from  New  Zealand  to  Eng- 
land, and  sold  there  at  a  lower  price  than  those  raised  by 
the  British  at  home.  In  this  way  New  Zealand  mutton 
comes  into  direct  competition  with  our  enormous  meat  ex- 
ports to  the  United  Kingdom  ;  and  as  Gre^t  Britain  is  our 


MUTTON 


99 


best  customer,  we  are  anxious  to  learn  how  the  business  of 
preparing  the  mutton  of  New  Zealand  for  the  market  is 
carried  on. 

But  first,  let  us  glance  at  the  sheep  industry  of  our  own 
country.  We  raise  many  million  sheep,  both  for  wool  and 
mutton  ;  and  although  we  have  no  mutton  for  export,  we 
have  enough  sheep  and  lambs  to  supply  our  own  markets. 
Many  are  slaughtered  at  Chicago  and  at  the  other  great 


A   New  Zealand  mutton  factory. 

packing  centers,  and  fresh  mutton,  like  beef  and  pork,  is 
sent  to  different  parts  of  our  country  in  cold  storage  cars. 
Sheep  are  also  killed  by  the  local  butchers  throughout  the 
United  States,  so  that  mutton  is  found  in  every  market 
house,  and  it  forms  one  of  the  chief  meats  on  our  tables. 

Sheep  were  among  the  first  animals  domesticated  by 
man,  and  they  have  been  raised  for  ages  in  nearly  all  parts 
of  Europe  and  Asia.  Columbus  brought  some  with  him 
to  the  West  Indies  on  his  second  voyage,  in  1493  ;  and 
later  others  were  imported  from   Spain   to   Mexico   and 


IOO  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD    IS   FED 

Florida.  The  Mexican  sheep  grew  rapidly  and  spread 
northward  to  our  country.  There  were  soon  great  flocks  of 
them  in  New  Mexico,  and  later  the  priests  of  the  Mission 
Stations  in  California  began  to  breed  them.  Indeed,  it  is 
said  that  these  missions,  in  1825,  had  more  than  one  million 
sheep  of  their  own.  As  early  as  1609,  sheep  were  brought 
from  England  into  Virginia,  but  the  wolves  which  then 
infested  that  region  killed  so  many  of  them  that  they  in- 
creased but  slowly.     Still  later  some  were  imported  from 


Sheep  on  a  western  ranch. 

Holland  into  New  York,  and  from  Great  Britain  and  Spain 
into  New  England ;  these  thrived  and  in  time  spread 
throughout  the  colonies  and  were  taken  westward,  as  the 
country  was  settled. 

At  present  the  most  of  our  sheep  are  reared  in  the 
west.  Many  are  to  be  found  in  the  corn  and  wheat  re- 
gions, and  they  are  pastured  in  great  flocks  on  the  high 
dry  lands  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  plateau.  At  the  last 
census,  we  had  all  together  about  sixty-two  million  sheep. 
The  states  having  more  than  any  of  the  others  were  Mon- 


MUTTON  IOI 

tana,  Wyoming,  and  New  Mexico,  each  of  which  had  five 
or  six  millions ;  next  came  Ohio,  which  had  more  than  four 
millions,  chiefly  in  small  flocks  scattered  over  the  farms. 
Utah  followed  with  about  four  millions;  and  then  Idaho 
and  Oregon  with  three  millions  each. 

On  the  high  lands  of  our  western  plateau  sheep  are 
pastured  out  of  doors  all  the  year  round.  Like  the  cattle 
we  saw  on  the  great  ranges  farther  west,  they  live  on  the 
thin  grass  which  has  been  cured  by  the  sun  as  it  stands. 
They  are  herded  by  shepherds,  who  live  in  wagons,  with 
their  flocks,  far  out  on  the  plains.  One  man  and  his  dogs 
can  guard  two  or  three  thousand  sheep  and  keep  them 
from  straying.  From  time  to  time,  some  of  the  flock  are 
shipped  east  to  the  markets,  or  to  the  corn  belt  to  be  fat- 
tened, and  thence  on  to  the  packing  houses.  The  meat  is 
treated  much  like  that  of  the  cattle  and  hogs  we  have 
already  inspected. 

Sheep  are  now  reared  in  most  European  countries  and 
especially  in  southern  Russia,  Spain,  and  the  mountainous 
lands  along  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  They  graze  in  north- 
ern Africa  as  far  south  as  the  borders  of  the  Sahara ;  and 
since  southern  Africa  has  been  settled  by  Europeans,  a  large 
sheep-growing  industry  has  sprung  up  there.  In  the  wilds 
of  The  Sudan  are  sheep  which  grow  hair  instead  of  wool ; 
and  in  Abyssinia  and  northern  China  and  Mongolia  are 
some  with  great  tails  so  loaded  with  fat  that  they  drag  on 
the  ground.  Sheep  thrive  on  most  of  the  highlands  of 
Asia.  They  are  found  in  vast  numbers  in  Argentina, 
Australia,  and  New  Zealand,  and  also  in  the  Falklands, 
far  south  of  the  Equator.  The  principal  sheep-raising 
countries  are  Australia  and  Argentina,  after  which  come 


102 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


the  United  States  and  New  Zealand.  Australia,  how- 
ever, raises  its  sheep  chiefly  for  wool,  while  in  Argentina 
and  New  Zealand  the  mutton  is  also  an  important 
product. 


Sheep  in  Australia. 


In  New  Zealand  both  food  and  climate  are  just  right 
for  producing  fine  mutton.  The  weather  is  mild  all  the 
year  round ;  there  is  plenty  of  rain,  and  the  rich  grasses 
keep  the  sheep  fat.  The  country  is  one  of  high  moun- 
tains, many  hills,  and  deep  valleys ;  there  is  good  water 
everywhere;  and  turnips,  on  which  the  sheep  thrive,  can 
be  easily  grown.  We  see  the  woolly  flocks  feeding  as  we 
ride  over  the  islands.  They  are  kept  inside  fences  and  are 
not  herded  as  are  our  sheep  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  pla- 


MUTTON  I03 

teau.  The  farmers  live  in  comfortable  homes  near  their 
flocks,  and  the  farming  scenes  are  much  like  those  of  our 
Middle  States. 

But  stop,  where  are  the  barns  and  the  haystacks  ?  We 
see  none  as  we  look  over  the  landscape.  They  are  not 
required  here.  In  New  Zealand  the  climate  is  so  mild 
that  the  grass  keeps  green,  all  the  year  round,  and  there  is 
little  need  of  putting  up  hay  where  the  sheep  and  cattle 
can  always  feed  out  of  doors. 

See  that  flock  of  sheep  eating  turnips.  The  field  is 
green,  for  they  have  just  been  let  in,  and  they  are  munch- 
ing the  tops.  By  and  by  all  the  green  will  have  disap- 
peared, and  the  black  ground,  with  the  bare  turnips  upon 
it,  will  look  as  though  it  had  been  sown  with  new  base- 
balls. The  sheep  will  next  eat  these,  biting  away  at  each 
turnip,  until  they  have  eaten  every  bit  of  the  root.  Some 
of  the  farmers  dig  up  the  turnips  and  store  them  in  pits 
or  mounds,  and  feed  them  to  the  sheep  as  they  are 
needed. 

Now  let  us  visit  the  factories  and  see  how  this  far-away 
mutton  is  prepared  for  the  tables  of  London.  We  choose 
one  at  Christchurch,  where  five  thousand  sheep  are  killed 
every  day.  It  seems  rather  small  after  the  great  packing 
houses  of  Chicago,  but  this  is  only  one  of  many  in  the 
country ;  the  frozen  meat  annually  shipped  selling  for  mil- 
lions of  dollars. 

We  take  a  carriage  at  the  hotel  in  Christchurch  and 
ride  out  to  the  factory.  The  buildings  are  great  sheds, 
surrounded  by  paddocks  filled  with  sheep  ready  for  kill- 
ing. Behind  them  are  drying  yards,  which,  at  first  sight, 
seem  covered  with  snow,  but  are  really  spotted  with  great 


104  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

piles  of  newly  washed  wool.  This  wool  has  been  pulled 
from  the  skins  of  the  animals  killed  for  mutton. 

We  are  first  taken  to  the  stock  yards,  where  men  are 
driving  the  fat  sheep  up  a  passageway  to  the  killing  de- 
partment on  the  second  floor.  See  how  quickly  they  go. 
Sheep  are  remarkable  for  following ;  and  here  the  leaders, 
known  as  decoys,  are  trained  to  conduct  their  fellows  to 
slaughter.  Day  after  day,  year  in  and  year  out,  those  old 
sheep  at  the  head  start  the  flocks  up  that  passage,  and 
lead  them  to  death,  stepping  out  at  the  top  to  go  back 
for  more. 

We  follow  the  sheep  into  the  building,  and  go  with  them 
into  the  killing  room.  We  are  now  in  a  great  hall,  walled 
with  pens,  each  of  which  holds  twenty  sheep.  The  pens 
face  a  central  aisle,  where  stand  the  butchers.  The  sheep 
die  at  the  rate  of  ten  every  minute. 

After  killing  a  sheep,  the  butcher  hangs  it  upon  a  hook 
behind  him  and  strips  off  the  skin.  He  cuts  off  the  head 
and  washes  the  body  down  with  hot  water.  This  is  done 
so  quickly  that  in  less  than  seven  minutes  the  sheep  is 
killed,  dressed,  and  ready  for  freezing.  It  is  now  hooked 
to  a  pulley,  and  started  by  means  of  a  shove  ;  and  the  pul- 
ley, which  runs  by  gravity  on  little  steel  tracks,  carries  the 
carcass  off  to  the  cooling  room.  From  now  on  it  will 
scarcely  be  handled  by  man  until  it  is  ready  for  shipment 
to  Europe. 

We  go  into  the  rooms  where  the  animals  are  cooled  for 
forty-eight  hours,  before  they  take  another  trip  on  pulleys 
into  the  cold  chamber,  where  they  are  frozen,  preparatory 
to  their  long  voyage  over  the  ocean.  In  this  place  every- 
thing is  ice  cold,  and  Jack  Frost  is  king.      The  ceiling  and 


MUTTON 


I05 


the  sides  of  the  room  have  great  coils  of  pipe  covered 
with  frost;  and  we  are  told  that  the  coldness  comes  from  a 
mixture  of  ammonia  and  brine,  so  arranged  that  it  reduces 
the  temperature  of  the  room  to  only  a  few  degrees  above 
zero.  The  place  is  full  of  frozen  meat  now.  The  pink 
and  white  mutton  hangs  down  from  the  ceiling  in  rows  of 
headless  sheep,  so  close  to  one  another  they  almost  touch. 


,  V 

flk^V  ^^ 

fw" 

Slide  into  the  cold  storage  chamber  of  a  steamer. 


There  are  one  thousand  carcasses  in  this  room,  all  frozen 
stiff.  We  tap  one  of  them,  and  the  sound  is  like  that 
made  by  tapping  a  drum-head.  We  take  it  down  and  rest 
it  on  the  floor.  It  is  as  hard  as  stone  and  so  stiff  that  the 
meat  does  not  bend.  It  chills  our  fingers,  and  we  are  glad 
to  see  it  back  on  the  hook. 

We  next  go  into  the  rooms  where  the  frozen  mutton 
is  stored.     These  are  of  the  same  character  as  the  freezing 


106  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

chamber,  save  that  they  are  rilled  with  sheep  carcasses, 
each  inclosed  in  a  bag  of  white  cotton,  and  these  are 
stacked  up  like  cords  of  wood.  They  are  now  ready  for 
shipping,  and  will  be  taken  from  here  and  loaded  upon 
the  cars  which  will  carry  them  to  the  harbor.  There 
they  will  be  thrown  out  into  trough-like  chutes,  down 
which  they  will  slide  into  the  cold  storage  chamber  of  a 
great  ocean  steamer,  not  to  come  out  until  they  are  landed 
in  London. 

Many  establishments  similar  to  this  are  to  be  found  in 
the  Argentine  Republic,  a  country  which  also  sends  much 
frozen  mutton  to  England.  The  chief  factories  of  Argen- 
tina are  at  the  great  seaport  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  the 
mutton  goes  almost  directly  from  the  factories  into  the 
holds  of  the  steamers.  The  distance  from  Buenos  Ayres 
to  London  is  only  a  little  more  than  half  as  great  as  that 
from  New  Zealand,  but  nevertheless,  New  Zealand  exports 
a  larger  amount  of  mutton.  In  both  countries  beef  also 
is  frozen  for  the  English  markets,  but  Argentina  far 
exceeds  New  Zealand  in  shipping  frozen  beef,  although 
its  export  of  fresh  beef  to  the  United  Kingdom  is  far  less 
than  ours. 

In  the  mutton  freezing  factories  the  waste  is  as  carefully 
saved  as  in  our  packing  houses.  The  wool  is  taken  from 
the  skins  and  used  to  make  clothing,  and  the  skins  are 
dried  and  shipped  in  bales  to  the  leather  markets.  The 
hoofs  are  used  for  glycerine  and  glue,  the  big  bones  make 
knife  handles,  buttons,  and  combs,  and  of  the  entrails 
fiddle  strings  are  made.  The  bones  are  ground  up  to 
feed  chickens,  and  both  blood  and  bones  are  used  as 
fertilizers. 


MILK,   BUTTER,   AND   CHEESE  107 


13.    MILK,  BUTTER,  AND    CHEESE 

MILK  is  one  of  the  world's  best  foods.  It  is  used  every- 
where, and  many  different  kinds  of  animals  are 
reared  to  supply  it.  In  the  far  northern  parts  of  Europe, 
along  the  Arctic  Ocean,  the  Laplanders  get  milk  from  the 
reindeer,  and  freeze  it  in  blocks  to  be  kept  until  needed ; 
in  the  Deserts  of  Sahara  and  Arabia  the  natives  drink  the 
milk  of  camels  and  asses  ;  and  in  western  Asia  there  are  wan- 
dering Tartar  tribes  who  live  largely  on  mare's  milk.  In 
some  European  countries  the  goat  is  the  poor  man's  cow, 
and  on  the  little  island  of  Malta,  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
thirty  thousand  goats  are  kept  for  their  milk.  Switzerland, 
Germany,  Austria,  and  Norway,  as  well  as  France,  Italy, 
and  Spain,  consume  goat's  milk  by  the  millions  of  gallons. 
Some  of  the  people  drink  it  in  their  coffee,  some  use  it  to 
make  butter,  and  some  manufacture  it  into  cheese  for  ship- 
ment all  over  the  world. 

Sometimes  the  milk  is  delivered  direct  from  the  goat, 
the  animal  being  driven  through  the  streets  from  house  to 
house,  the  purchasers  watching  the  goatherd  and  making 
him  turn  his  can  upside  down  before  he  begins,  to  be  sure 
that  no  water  gets  in.  A  good  milch  goat  will  yield  a 
quart  or  more  at  one  milking,  and  it  can  be  milked  three 
times  a  day. 

But  it  is  not  from  goats,  sheep,  camels,  or  reindeer  that 
the  most  of  the  world's  milk  supply  comes.  It  is  from 
cows,  which  are  kept  for  this  purpose  all  over  the  world. 
We  have  seen  how  cattle  are  reared  for  meat.  We  also 
keep  many  for  butter  and  cheese.    Such  animals  are  known 


Io8  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

as  dairy  cattle,  and  the  United  States  has  more  of  them  than 
any  other  country  on  earth.  If  everybody  in  this  country 
drank  milk,  there  would  be  enough  to  give  each  of  us  at 
least  one  glass  every  day.  At  the  time  of  our  last  census, 
we  had  about  eighteen  million  dairy  cows  ;  and  our  product 
of  milk,  butter,  and  cheese  was  so  great  that  dairying  was 
one  of  the  most  important  of  all  our  industries. 


■    »* 


Jersey  cow. 

A  good  dairy  cow  is  one  which  turns  the  most  of  its  food 
into  milk  rather  than  into  beef.  It  should  produce  at  least 
six  quarts  of  milk  every  day  for  three  hundred  days  of  the 
year,  or  about  four  thousand  pounds  of  milk  in  that  time. 
Many  of  our  best  dairy  herds  annually  yield  more  than  five 
thousand  pounds  of  milk  for  each  cow,  and  there  are  some 
cows  which  give  every  year  ten  times  their  own  weight  in 
rich  milk.  Brown  Bessie,  the  champion  Jersey  butter  cow 
of  the  Chicago  World's  Fair,  produced,  in  ninety  days, 
thirty-six  hundred  and  thirty-four  pounds  of  milk. 


MILK,   BUTTER,    AND   CHEESE  IO9 

When  we  visit  the  dairies,  we  shall  learn  that  the  quality 
of  the  milk  is  quite  as  important  as  the  quantity.  The  Jer- 
sey cow,  for  instance,  gives  a  comparatively  small  amount 
of  milk,  but  this  is  so  rich  that  it  makes  more  butter  than 
any  other  kind.  Some  fine  Jerseys  yield  twenty-five  or  thirty 
pounds  of  butter  a  week,  and  a  single  cow  has  produced  as 
much  as  one  thousand  pounds  in  one  year.  The  Guernseys, 
which,  like  the  Jerseys,  originated  on  one  of  the  islands  of 


Red  Polled  cow. 

the  English  Channel,  have  rich  milk  ;  and  so  have  the  Ayr- 
shires,  which  came  from  Scotland;  and  the  Red  Polls  and 
Shorthorns,  which  are  bred  also  for  meat.  Holstein  cows  are 
large  black  and  white  cattle,  which  originally  came  from 
Holland.  They  yield  so  much  milk  that  it  is  not  uncommon 
for  a  cow  to  give  her  own  weight  in  milk  in  one  month,  but 
the  milk  is  not  so  rich  as  that  of  the  other  breeds  above 
mentioned. 


no 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


Indeed,  milk  is  chiefly  valued  according  to  the  amount 
of  cream  or  butter  fat  it  contains.  We  can  understand 
this  by  examining  a  drop  or  so  under  the  microscope.  As 
we  pour  the  milk  out,  it  looks  like  a  white  liquid,  and  one 
might  suppose  its  particles  to  be  the  same  all  the  way 
through.  Under  the  microscope,  however,  we  see  that  it  is 
a  clear,  transparent  fluid  with  many  minute  globules,  or  little 
bodies  of  fat  of  various  sizes,  swimming  about.     This  fluid 


Holstein  cow. 


is  composed  of  water  and  the  parts  of  the  milk  which, 
although  solids  when  dry,  are  now  dissolved  in  the  water, 
just  as  though  they  were  sugar  or  salt.  The  globules  can- 
not be  so  dissolved.  They  are  balls  of  pure  fat,  so  small 
that  a  single  drop  of  milk  contains  millions  of  them.  In- 
deed, it  is  said  that  if  a  person  tried  to  count  all  the  bodies 
in  one  drop  of  milk,  and  should  count  at  the  rate  of  one 
hundred  per  minute,  ten  hours  every  day,  and  six  days 
every  week,  it  would  take  him  ten  years  before  he  got 


MILK,   BUTTER,   AND   CHEESE  III 

through.  The  globules  average  about  one  ten-thousandth 
of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  it  would  take  many  of  them, 
placed  one  on  top  of  another,  to  equal  the  thickness  of 
this  page  we  are  reading. 

We  next  take  some  milk  from  which  the  cream  has  been 
skimmed,  and  magnify  it.  Most  of  the  fat  globules  have 
disappeared,  and  we  see  one  here  and  there.  Now  put  the 
cream  under  the  microscope.  It  seems  to  be  made  up  of 
such  globules.  The  little  fat  bodies  are  as  close  together 
as  peas  in  a  bag,  and  they  look  like  yellow  shot  piled  one 
upon  another.  Milk  is  rich  or  poor  according  to  the  num- 
ber and  size  of  these  minute  bodies  of  fat,  and  that  of  our 
best  dairy  herds  has  the  most  and  the  largest. 

If  we  should  keep  the  drop  of  milk  long  under  the  mi- 
croscope, we  should  see  that  the  fat  drops  gradually  come 
to  the  top.  The  milk  serum,  as  the  fluid  itself  outside  the 
fat  is  called,  is  heavier  than  these  globules,  and  therefore 
it  sinks.  It  is  altogether  a  matter  of  gravity.  The  heavier 
milk  particles  go  to  the  bottom,  the  light  fat  ones  rise  to 
the  top.  It  is  the  lightness  of  the  fat  particles  that  causes 
them  to  ascend  and  fill  the  upper  part  of  the  milk,  making 
cream. 

Upon  this  same  principle  all  kinds  of  milk  buying  and 
butter  making  depend.  The  milk  serum  is  not  pure 
water.  It  contains  sugar  and  casein,  as  well  as  a  little 
albumen  and  some  mineral  matter,  all  of  which  have  a 
food  value,  as  we  shall  see  later  on.  It  is,  in  fact,  more 
like  a  sticky  sirup  than  water,  and  the  fat  particles  cannot 
make  their  way  rapidly  through  it.  For  this  reason  the 
cream  comes  up  slowly,  and  for  the  same  reason,  when  the 
milk  is  shaken  about,  the  little  fat  drops  are  loosened  and 


112  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

rise  more  rapidly.  Butter  making  of  one  kind  or  another 
consists  of  such  shaking.  The  fat  is  all  brought  to  the  top 
of  the  milk,  and  so  treated  that  the  little  globules  are 
packed  tightly  together  and  all  the  milk  serum  is  squeezed 
out. 

Until  recently,  cream  was  gathered  from  milk  by  allow- 
ing it  to  stand  in  crocks  or  pans  in  a  cellar  to  cool,  or  in 
the  running  water  of  a  spring  house.  After  twelve  or 
more  hours  most  of  the  yellow  butter  fat  had  come  to  the 
top  and  could  be  skimmed  off  and  churned.  Our  first 
dairy  factories  bought  the  milk  and  gathered  the  cream 
in  this  way.  Later,  the  farmers,  having  skimmed  their 
milk  at  home,  carried  the  cream  to  the  factories.  Then  a 
machine,  called  a  separator,  was  invented,  by  which  the 
butter  fat  could  be  taken  quickly  out  of  the  milk ;  and  it 
is  by  means  of  such  separators  that  cream  is  now  gathered 
in  our  chief  dairy  districts. 

Indeed,  it  is  said  that  there  are  more  than  one  million 
separators  in  use  in  our  country  to-day.  They  are  of  all 
sizes  and  patterns.  In  the  great  dairy  factories  and  on 
large  farms  they  are  moved  by  water,  steam,  or  electricity ; 
and  in  smaller  establishments  by  horses,  oxen,  and  even 
by  dogs,  sheep,  and  goats.  Some  of  the  larger  machines 
will  take  the  cream  from  as  much  as  five  hundred  gallons 
of  milk  in  an  hour,  or  from  more  than  eight  gallons  in  one 
minute.  The  principle  of  the  separator  is  the  same  as  that 
of  cream  rising  and  churning.  The  milk  is  put  into  a  great 
steel  bowl,  held  in  an  iron  frame,  and  whirled  round  at  the 
rate  of  from  fifteen  hundred  to  twenty-five  thousand  revo- 
lutions a  minute.  It  moves  so  rapidly  that  one  cannot  see 
that  the  bowl  is  going  at  all ;  so  rapidly  that  the  milk  serum 


MILK,   BUTTER,   AND  CHEESE  113 

which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  heavier  than  the  fat,  flies  out  to 
the  walls  of  the  bowl,  and  at  the  same  time  the  cream  comes 
to  the  center.  The  cream  flows  out  through  one  pipe,  and 
the  skimmed  milk  through  another.  In  some  of  the  large 
dairy  factories  and  creameries  such  separators  are  kept 
going  steadily,  the  fresh  milk  pouring  in  from  a  great 
reservoir,  and  the  cream  and  skimmed  milk  flowing  out. 

Many  of  these  establishments  take  the  milk  from  the 
farmers,  run  it  through  their  separators,  and  pay  for  the 
cream,  the  skimmed  milk  being  given  back  to  be  carried 
home  for  the  hogs.  In  other  places  the  fresh  milk  is  bought 
outright,  and  paid  for  according  to  its  butter  fat.  The 
quality  is  gauged  by  different  instruments,  one  of  the  most 
common  being  the  Babcock  milk  test.  This  is  a  little  bottle 
with  a  long,  slender  neck,  marked  in  a  very  similar  way 
to  the  thermometer  that  doctors  use  for  taking  one's 
temperature.  A  tablespoonful  of  milk  is  put  into  the 
bottle,  together  with  a  little  sulphuric  acid.  The  bottle  is 
laid  on  its  side  and  placed  in  a  machine  which  whirls  it 
around,  throwing  the  butter  fat  to  the  neck  ;  so  that,  by 
reading  the  figures  to  which  the  fat  rises,  one  can  tell  just 
what  percentage  of  fat  there  is  in  the  milk. 

But  it  is  not  alone  the  fat  in  the  milk  that  we  use  for 
food.  The  milk  serum,  or  pure  skimmed  milk  contains  sugar 
and  casein,  as  well  as  albumen  and  some  valuable  salts. 
The  sugar  is  sometimes  extracted  and  reduced  to  a  solid. 
It  then  looks  and  tastes  like  powdered  white  sugar,  al- 
though not  so  sweet.  You  may  find  it  for  sale  in  almost 
any  drug  store.  It  is  from  the  casein  that  we  make 
curds  for  cheese ;  and  the  salts  are  chiefly  soda,  potash, 
phosphates,  and  lime.     In  one  hundred  pounds  of  good 


114  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

milk  there  are  about  eighty-seven  pounds  of  water,  four 
pounds  of  fat,  three  and  one  third  pounds  of  casein  and 
albumen,  and  seven  tenths  of  a  pound  of  salts. 

Milk  forms  so  large  a  part  of  our  food  that  we  ought 
to  know  just  what  it  contains,  and  also  whether  we  are 
getting  pure  milk  and  rich  milk  when  we  buy  it.  You 
may  have  heard  of  the  bad  boy  who  told  the  farmer  that 
his  best  cow  had  an  apple  fast  in  its  throat ;  and  how  when 
the  man  ran  out  he  found  that  his  pump  spout  was  choked 
up  in  that  way.  Milk  peddlers  are  frequently  accused  of 
watering  their  wares.  Even  in  those  countries  where  the 
cows  are  driven  from  door  to  door,  the  man  who  peddles 
the  milk  sometimes  has,  it  is  alleged,  a  rubber  bag  of  water 
under  his  coat,  with  a  tube  running  down  the  sleeve  to  his 
hand,  so  that  when  he  presses  his  arm  against  his  side, 
the  water  flows  in  and  mixes  with  the  milk  as  he  draws  it 
from  the  cow.  We  believe  most  of  our  milkmen  are 
honest,  and  that  what  they  sell  will  stand  the  milk  test. 
Good  milk  should  have  a  yellowish  white  color  and  taste 
sweet  and  pure.  If  allowed  to  stand  for  some  hours,  the 
cream  should  rise  to  one  eighth  or  one  fifth  of  the  volume 
of  the  milk,  and  when  the  cream  and  milk  are  poured  out 
there  should  be  no  sediment,  although  the  milk  may  cling 
a  little  to  the  vessel.  Skimmed  milk  or  poor  milk  is  thinner 
than  whole  milk,  and  is  of  a  bluish  white  color. 

Let  us  examine  the  different  branches  of  our  great 
dairy  industry.  We  have  produced  in  one  year  about  seven 
billion  gallons  of  milk  ;  of  which  about  two  billions  were 
sold  as  milk,  and  one  hundred  and  fourteen  millions  as 
cream.  Three  billion  gallons  of  milk  were  made  into 
butter,  twenty-one  million  gallons  were  turned  into  cheese, 


MILK,   BUTTER,    AND  CHEESE  1 1  5 

and  from  a  large  quantity  condensed  milk  was  manu- 
factured. We  made  so  much  butter  that  year  that  if  it 
could  have  been  properly  distributed,  it  would  have  spread 
at  least  one  loaf  of  bread  for  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  the  whole  world.  Our  product  of  butter  was  four- 
teen hundred  and  ninety-two  million  pounds.     We  made 


Milking  on  a^model  dairy  farm  in  New  Jersey. 

almost  three  hundred  million  pounds  of  cheese,  and  our 
dairy  products  all  together  were  worth  about  six  hundred 
million  dollars. 

This  vast  industry  is  carried  on  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  States,  but  mostly  in  our  Central  States,  north  and 
south.  That  region  supports  nearly  two  thirds  of  our  dairy 
cows,  the  North  Atlantic  States  coming  next,  with  about 


n6 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


one  sixth  of  the  total  number.  The  chief  butter  states  are 
Iowa,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin. 
New  York  and  Wisconsin  yield  two  thirds  of  our  cheese. 

The  most  of  our  butter  is  made  on  the  farms,  but  enor- 
mous quantities  are  produced  in  factories,  where  every- 
thing is  done  by 
machinery  moved  by 
steam  or  electricity. 
In  factory  churning, 
a  hogshead  or  more 
of  cream  is  turned 
into  butter  at  a  time  ; 
the  butter  is  worked 
by  machinery,  and 
is  packed  in  prints, 
bricks,  rolls,  or  in 
buckets  or  casks, 
for  the  different 
markets. 

Another  impor- 
tant branch  of  this 
industry  is  cheese 
making.  Cheese  is 
composed  of  the  ca- 
sein and  fat,  most  of  the  other  constituents  of  the  milk 
passing  off  in  the  water  or  whey.  Cheese  is  rich  or  poor 
according  to  the  amount  of  fat  it  contains.  In  cheese 
making  the  milk  is  curdled  by  putting  into  it  a  piece  of 
a  calf's  stomach,  called  rennet.  This  makes  the  milk 
coagulate,  or  turn  into  curds.  The  whey  or  water  is  now 
pressed  out,   leaving   a   solid    mass,    which  is  cured   and 


Making  butter  by  machinery. 


MILK,    BUTTER,   AND   CHEESE 


117 


ripened  into  the  different  kinds  of  cheese.  Whey  is  used 
for  making  milk  sugar  and  for  stock  feeding.  Some  years 
ago  most  of  our  cheese  was  manufactured  on  the  farms; 
now  all  but  a  small  part  of  it  is  made  in  the  many  factories 
which  have  been  established  in  our  chief  dairy  states. 

We  also  have  establishments  for  making  the  condensed 
milk  which  we  produce  for  our  home  market  and  for  ex- 


After  the  arrival  of  the  milk  train. 


port.  From  such  milk  a  large  part  of  the  water  has  been 
evaporated,  so  that  this  milk  can  be  kept  in  cans  for  a  long 
time.  It  is  used  by  babies,  and  also  by  sick  people,  and 
on  ships  and  in  other  places  where  new  milk  cannot  be 
obtained. 

The  business  of  selling  fresh  milk  and  cream  to  the 
people  of  our  towns  is  enormous.  Each  great  city  con- 
sumes a  little  ocean  of  milk  every  week  ;  and  this  must  be 


Il8  FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

brought  daily  from  the  farms  and  dairies  and  distributed 
from  house  to  house.  This  milk  comes  to  the  cities  on  the 
cars,  often  traveling  two  or  three  hundred  miles  before  it 
reaches  the  consumer.  Every  railroad  entering  New  York 
or  Chicago  has  special  milk  trains,  in  some  of  which  are  re- 
frigerator cars.  Many  of  these  trains  arrive  in  the  city  at 
midnight,  and  the  milk  is  kept  ice  cold  until  it  can  be 
loaded  upon  the  wagons  the  next  morning.  It  is  shipped 
in  heavy  cans  holding  from  five  to  ten  gallons  each.  It  is 
then  put  into  bottles  holding  a  quart  or  a  pint  each  for  de- 
livery, the  bottles  being  sealed  to  prevent  adulteration.  In 
the  dairy  regions  many  of  the  towns  are  served  by  farmers 
who  have  milk  routes  and  deliver  from  door  to  door. 

14.    DAIRYING   IN   OTHER   LANDS 

WE  have  left  the  United  States  and  are  traveling 
through  the  chief  dairy  countries  of  Europe.  None 
has  as  many  cows  as  our  country  has,  but  in  many  of 
them  more  butter  and  cheese  for  export  are  made.  Our 
vast  product  is  mostly  consumed  at  home,  although  we 
sell  some  of  it  in  Great  Britain  and  elsewhere.  One  of 
the  chief  butter-exporting  countries  of  the  world  is  Den- 
mark. It  is  a  low  flat  land  cut  up  by  the  sea,  not  more 
than  twice  as  big  as  New  Jersey ;  but  it  has  excellent 
pastures,  and  it  rears  a  number  of  fat  dairy  cows.  It  is, 
moreover,  so  near  England  that  it  can  send  its  butter 
there  cheaply ;  and  so  much  of  its  butter  is  shipped  to  the 
English  market  that  Denmark  is  sometimes  called  London's 
chief  dairy  farm. 


DAIRYING   IN   OTHER   LANDS 


119 


The  Danes  are  thrifty  and  intelligent  people,  and  they 
realize  that  if  one  would  do  a  good  business  from  year  to 
year,  he  must  always  furnish  the  best  goods  of  his  kind. 
For  this  reason  the  Danish  government  takes  care  that 
only  good  butter  is  sent  out  of  the  country  ;  and  it  has 
established  dairy  schools,  where  the  people  are  taught 
butter  making.  The  farmers  in  the  different  parts  of 
Denmark  have  clubbed  together  and  built  dairy  factories, 
which  they  manage  themselves.  Through  such  establish- 
ments they  buy  much  of  their  cow  feed  at  wholesale, 
including  a  great  deal  of  our  Indian  corn  and  cotton-seed 
meal.  They  also  join  together  in  exporting  their  butter, 
and  ship  it  in  sealed  cans  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Danish  butter  is  so  sweet  and  so  well  made  that  it  is  in 
demand  everywhere. 

The  Dutch,  French,  and  Swiss,  and  also  the  Swedes 
and  the  Belgians,  are  good  butter  makers,  producing  not 
only  enough  for  them- 
selves, but  exporting 
much  to  other  coun- 
tries. The  Russians, 
until  within  recent 
years,  made  no  butter 
for  export ;  but  few  of 
their  common  people 
could  afford  to  use 
it,    and    their    dairy 

product     was      small.  A  Belgian  milk  seller. 

Now,  delicious  butter  is  made  in  Finland  and  in  other 
parts  of  European  Russia,  and  a  dairy  industry  has  been 
established  in  western  Siberia.     The  government  fosters 


120 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS    FED 


this  industry.  The  Siberian  butter  is  put  up  in  barrels 
and  taken  on  express  trains  across  Russia  to  the  Baltic 
Sea,  where,  in  fast  steamers,  it  is  shipped  to  the  chief 
European  markets.  The  most  of  it  goes  to  London,  which 
buys  several  million  dollars'  worth  of  Russian  butter  every 
year. 


Shipping  Siberian  butter  to  London. 


Other  far-away  dairy  lands  are  Australia  and  New 
Zealand,  the  butter  being  carried  from  them  in  cold  storage 
chambers  over  many  thousand  miles  of  water  before  it 
reaches  its  consumers.  The  most  of  this  product  goes  also 
to  London.  Indeed,  the  United  Kingdom  is  the  world's 
chief  dairy  market;  and  it  annually  imports  more  than 
one  hundred  million  dollars'  worth  of  butter  and. a  vast 
quantity  of  cheese. 


DAIRYING   IN   OTHER   LANDS 


121 


The  best  European  butter  is  delicious.  In  many  of  the 
countries  it  is  made  without  salt,  and  in  France  salted 
butter.is  looked  upon  with  suspicion,  the  people  thinking 
the  salt  is  put  in  to  hide  some  bad  taste  or  other  defect. 

In  most  parts  of  Europe  the  cattle  are  milked  in  the  fields 
and  the  milk  carried  home.  In  Normandy  women  drive 
out  to  the  pastures  in  little  donkey  carts,  filled  with  large 


Dutch  stable  and  house  combined. 

cans.  They  go  over  the  fields  to  where  the  cows  are  graz- 
ing, and  milk  them  as  they  eat,  setting  down  can  after  can 
when  it  is  full,  until  all  the  cows  are  milked.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  little  donkey,  still  harnessed  to  the  cart,  has  been 
allowed  to  graze  where  he  pleases.  «.  After  the  milking  is 
finished,  he  is  caught,  and  the  cans  are  gathered  up  and 
carried  to  the  milk   room  at  the  iarmhouse.     There  the 


122 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


milk  stands  until  the  cream  rises,  when  the  butter  is  made 
and  put  up  in  small  rolls  or  mottes.  On  market  day  each 
roll  is  neatly  wrapped  in  a  white  cloth  and  packed  in  a  little 
basket  with  some  long  wheat  straw  to  keep  it  from  shaking 
about.  In  this  shape  it  is  carried  to  the  town  market, 
whence  it  may  go  to  Paris  or  to  some  other  large  city. 
The  Dutch  are  among  the  best  dairy  farmers  of  Europe. 
They  blanket  their  cows  when  in  the  fields,  to  protect  them 
from  the  cold  ;  in  the  summer  they  milk  them  out  of  doors, 
and  in  winter  they  sometimes  take  them  into  their  houses. 

At  least,  the  stables 
are  frequently  under 
the  same  roof  as  the 
rest  of  the  dwelling, 
and  are  kept  almost 
as  clean. 

These  people  are 
famous  cheese  mak- 
ers, producing  some 
varieties,  such  as  the 

Making  Edam  cheese.  Edam      and      Qouda, 

which  are  exported  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  An  Edam 
cheese  is  almost  as  big  as  a  football,  and  is  always  globe 
shaped.  It  usually  weighs  a  little  more  than  three  pounds. 
It  is  a  cream  cheese,  yellow  within,  but  inclosed  in  a 
bright  crimson  coat. 

One  of  the  most  common  of  the  cheeses  which  we  import 
from  Europe  is  known  as  the  Gruyere  or  Schweitzer,  so 
called  because  it  is  made  in  Switzerland.  The  Schweitzer 
cheese  is  as  big  as  a  carriage  wheel  and  from  five  to  eight 
inches  thick.     It  is  exported  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 


DAIRYING   IN  OTHER   LANDS  1 23 

Another  cheese  which  we  consume  in  large  quantities  is 
the  Parmesan,  which  comes  from  Italy.  It  is  made  from 
skimmed  milk,  and  is  at  its  best  when  three  or  four  years 
old.  Parmesan  cheese  is  very  hard.  It  is  white  within,  but 
its  coat  is  so  treated  with  charcoal  and  oil  that  it  shines 
like  jet.  It  is  often  grated  and  used  as  a  thickening  for 
soups,  and  with  macaroni. 

There  are  many  other  cheeses,  made  in  different  parts 
of  Europe,  which  are  exported  to  other  countries  —  in  all 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  different  kinds.  Some  of 
the  best  of  these  varieties  are  made  equally  well  in  our 
country.  Indeed,  we  manufacture  nearly  all  the  cheese 
we  consume,  and  we  export  to  other  countries  about  fifty 
times  as  much  as  we  import. 

There  is  one  cheese  district,  however,  that  we  ought  to 
visit  before  leaving  Europe.  I  mean  the  mountainous  re- 
gion about  Roquefort,  in  south-central  France,  where  the 
sheep-milk  cheese  of  that  name  is  made.  Roquefort  stands 
far  up  on  the  side  of  a  mountain,  its  buildings  being  at- 
tached to  the  cliffs.  Most  of  the  houses  are  only  one  room 
deep,  but  they  are  two,  three,  and  four  stories  high,  looking 
out  over  the  valley.  The  mountain  behind  the  town  is  full 
of  caverns  and  passages,  through  which  run  strong  cur- 
rents of  air  and  streams  of  ice-cold  water.  It  is  in  these 
caves  that  Roquefort  cheese  has  been  cured  as  long  as  any 
one  can  remember.  The  caves  were  known  in  the  days  of 
Charlemagne,  and  the  peasants  of  this  region  were  milking 
sheep  for  such  cheese  long  before  Columbus  discovered 
America.  Now  the  business  is  controlled  by  companies, 
which  have  added  to  the  caves  big  stone  vaults,  through 
which  the  air  from  the  mountain  caverns  is  conducted. 


124 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


It  is  the  air,  moisture,  and  cold  water  of  the  caverns 
which  give  Roquefort  cheese  its  peculiar  color  and  taste. 
It  is  white  or  yellow,  with  streaks  of  blue  mold  running 
through  it,  the  blue  mold  coming  out  on  the  cheese  as  it 
stands  in  the  caves. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  sheep  are  milked  in  this  re- 
gion, and  each  animal  gives  about  a  quart  of  milk  a  day 
during  the  season.     The  milk  sheep  are  of  a  breed  called 


South  American  milk  peddler. 

the  Larzac.  They  are  white  faced,  big  bodied,  long  legged, 
and  long  tailed.  Their  tails  are  never  cut,  as  are  the  tails 
of  our  sheep ;  and  the  peasants  say  that  the  longer  the 
sheep's  tail,  the  more  and  the  better  her  milk.  The  farmers 
take  the  fresh  milk  to  the  cheese  factories  which  have  been 
built  throughout  the  surrounding  country  ;  and  the  new 
cheeses  are  carried  from  them  to  the  caves  to  be  cured. 

In  Bulgaria,  Hungary,  Greece,  and  Italy,  other  varieties 
of  cheese  are  made  from  sheep's  milk. 


DAIRYING   IN   OTHER   LANDS  1 25 

South  America  has  many  cattle,  but  they  are  reared 
chiefly  for  meat  or  for  draft.  On  the  Argentine  pampas  we 
might  visit  ranches  on  which  are  thousands  of  cows,  and 
yet  find  the  owners  using  butter  imported  in  tin  cans 
from  Denmark  or  Switzerland.  In  many  parts  of  South 
America  cheese  is  made  from  cow's  milk  ;  and  a  bit  of 
cheese  with  guava  jelly  is  perhaps  the  most  common 
dessert  of  that  continent. 

Some  fine  cattle  are  reared  in  our  little  island  of  Porto 
Rico.  They  do  not  know  what  hay  is,  but  feed  on  the 
coarse  grass  which,  on  this  island,  is  green  all  the  year 
round.  In  certain  islands  of  the  West  Indies  milk  is  boiled 
before  it  is  used ;  and  in  some  places  salt  is  put  in  to  keep 
it  fresh. 

Crossing  to  Asia,  we  find  that  the  dairy  industry  of 
that  continent  is  small.  It  is  most  important  in  western 
Siberia,  where  the  Russians  make  butter  and  cheese 
for  shipment  to  Europe.  Fast  express  trains  carry  the 
dairy  products  across  Russia  to  the  Baltic  Sea,  where  ves- 
sels are  waiting  to  take  them  to  London.  The  Chinese, 
Koreans,  and  Japanese  use  comparatively  little  milk,  and 
in  their  countries  butter  is  almost  unknown.  In  Tibet,  a 
soup  made  of  butter  and  tea,  boiled  with  water  into  a  thick 
fatty  broth,  is  considered  delicious  ;  and  in  Hindustan  a 
melted  butter,  known  as  ghi,  is  used  for  cooking  and  eat- 
ing. In  the  Philippines,  cows  are  comparatively  few,  and 
in  many  of  the  islands  good  butter  and  milk  are  scarce. 
The  milk  peddlers  go  about  carrying  their  wares  in  clay 
jars,  which  rest  upon  poles  over  their  shoulders,  using  a 
hollow  piece  of  bamboo  to  measure  it  out  to  the  customer. 

In  many  Asiatic  countries  the  water  buffalo,  an    ugly 


126 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


beast  with  great  flat  horns  and  hair  much  like  bristles, 
furnishes  milk  from  which  cheese  and  butter  are  some- 
times made.  This  animal  is  somewhat  like  a  cow.  It  is 
found  in  the  Philippines,  in  Siam,  Burma,  the  East  Indies, 
and  in  Egypt.  In  Hindustan,  Malaysia,  Madagascar, 
and  in  parts  of  Africa,  there  are  cattle  with  humps  on  their 
backs  which  furnish  excellent  milk ;  and  in  South  Africa, 
Australia,  and  New  Zealand  there  are  many  fine  dairy 
cattle,  the  offspring  of  animals  imported  from  England. 


?x*< 


15.    POULTRY  — CHICKENS,    DUCKS,    GEESE, 
AND   TURKEYS 


T 


HE  food  we  are 
to  consider  to- 
day is  amongst  the 
most  delicious  eaten 
by  man.  How  many 
of  us  have  smacked 
our  lips  over  a  juicy 
young  chicken,  a  fat 
goose,  a  duck  done 
to  a  turn,  or  that 
king  of  the  Ameri- 
can barnyard,  whose 
final  throne  is  our 
Thanksgiving  table,  —  the  great  bronze  turkey.  Fried 
chicken  with  gravy,  roast  goose  and  apple  sauce,  roast  turkey 
with  cranberries,  or  stuffed,  it  may  be,  with  oysters,  —  he 


POULTRY— CHICKENS,  DUCKS,  GEESE,  AND  TURKEYS     1 27 

has  a  poor  stomach,  indeed,  who  cannot  relish  any  or  all 
of  these. 

These  domestic  birds  are  known  as  poultry.  They  are 
reared  in  vast  numbers  in  all  civilized  countries,  and  there 
are  few  savage  lands  which  do  not  have  chickens  and 
ducks.  In  the  United  States  rearing  fowls  for  their  meat 
and  eggs  is  a  great  industry,  from  which  comes  a  large 
part  of  our  national  wealth.  A  chicken  is  a  small  thing, 
it  is  true;  but  the  chickens  of  the  United  States,  when 
valued  at  our  last  census,  were  worth  many  million  dollars, 
and  the  fifteen  billion  eggs  they  produced  in  that  year 
brought  more  than  the  product  of  all  our  mines  of  gold 
and  silver  during  the  same  time.  At  a  cent  apiece  they 
were  worth  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars. 

We  had  then  about  five  million  farms,  upon  which  there 
were  two  hundred  and  thirty  million  chickens,  more  than 
eight  million  geese,  six  and  one  half  million  turkeys,  and 
about  five  million  ducks.  We  have  more  of  each  of  these 
fowls  in  our  country  to-day. 

Suppose  Uncle  Sam  should  call  them  together  into  one 
barnyard !  What  a  noise  they  would  make  !  The  mil- 
lions of  geese  would  hiss  at  us  as  we  walked  by 
them ;  the  ducks  would  quack  in  such  a  chorus  we  could 
not  hear  each  other  speak  ;  the  turkey  cocks  would  gob- 
ble as  they  proudly  brushed  the  earth  with  their  wings, 
making  a  sound  like  a  rushing  wind ;  the  crowing  of  the 
vast  army  of  roosters  would  be  loud  and  shrill ;  and  the 
hens,  in  a  chorus  of  two  hundred  millions,  would  cluck 
out  the  fact  that  they  had  laid  almost  enough  eggs  to  give 
a  dozen  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  upon  earth,  within 
the  past  twelve  months. 


128 


FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE   WORLD  IS  FED 


^fev  We  have,  in  the  United 

^  States,  eighty-seven  stand- 

ard varieties  of  chickens, 
some  of  which  have  been 
produced  here,  and  others 
imported  from  different 
parts  of  the  world.  The 
Brahmas,  Langshans,  and 
Cochins  come  from  Asia, 
and  are  esteemed  espe- 
cially for  their  fine  meat ; 
the  Dominiques,  Leg- 
horns, Minorcas,  and 
Black  Spanish  are  from 
Silver  Penciled  Wyandotte  hen.  countries  along  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea,  and  are  especially  noted  as  layers  ;  while 
the  Plymouth  Rocks,  Wyandottes,  Javas,  and  others  are 
largely  American  products,  and  are  excellent  meat  and 
egg  producers. 

In  addition  to  these,  we 
have  many  other  useful 
breeds  of  fowls  which  have 
been  brought  from  Ger- 
many, Poland,  France,  and 
England ;  and  also  some 
ornamental  breeds  which 
are  reared  for  their  beauty 
or  oddity. 

The  Plymouth  Rocks 
seem  to  be  our  most  pop- 
ular  chickens  for    general  Buff  Cochin  rooster. 


•*■- 


POULTRY  — CHICKENS,  DUCKS,  GEESE,  AND  TURKEYS     129 


purposes.  They  are  hardy,  grow  rapidly,  and  are  fit  for 
broiling  when  from  eight  to  twelve  weeks  old.  They  lay 
large  eggs  all  the 
year  round,  and  are 
good  sitters  and 
excellent  mothers. 
The  Wyandottes  and 
Javas  are  also  liked 
for  the  same  reasons. 
Some  of  our  chick- 
ens of  the  Asiatic 
class  are  very  odd- 
looking.  The  Buff 
Cochins  have  long 
yellow  feathers,  not 
only  over  their  bod-  white  Le^horn  rooster' 

ies,  but  on  their  legs  and  feet ;  and  the  Light  Brahmas 
grow  so  large  that  the  roosters  often  weigh  twelve  pounds 

or  more.  The  Leghorns 
are  beautiful ;  and  so  are 
the  Black  Minorcas  and 
Langshans. 

The  ornamental  varie- 
ties of  chickens  are  so 
strange-looking  that  they 
would  be  regarded  as  for- 
eigners in  the  ordinary 
American  barnyard.  The 
white-crested  black  Polish 
fowl  has  a  cap  or  brush 

English  Red  Game  rooster.  of     white    plumes    on    its 

foods  —  9 


130 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 


head,  although  its  body  is  covered  with  dark-colored 
feathers;  and  the  silver  Polish  hen  has  a  beard.  Game 
chickens,  of  which  there  are  many  kinds,  are  tall  and  lean, 
with  short  and  comparatively  few  feathers.  They  are 
quarrelsome,  and  the  roosters  will  fight  any  other  roosters 
that  come  near  them.  Bantam  chickens  are  smaller,  and 
they  lay  small  eggs.  They  are  found  in  many  countries, 
and  there  are  some  especially  odd  varieties  in  Java  and 
Japan. 

The  turkey  is  a  native  of  our  continent.      It  roamed  the 
forests  of  North  America  when  our  forefathers  came ;  and 

for  a  long  time  in  the 
Central  and  Southern 
States  the  pioneers  had 
no  trouble  in  shooting 
enough  wild  turkeys  to 
supply  their  tables.  Now 
the  wild  turkey  has  almost 
disappeared,  but  his  de- 
scendants are  reared  not 
only  all  over  our  country, 
but  in  Europe  and  Asia. 
The  first  turkeys  which 
crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean 


Turkey. 


were  taken  by  the  Spaniards  from  Mexico  to  Spain. 
Later,  some  were  carried  over  to  England,  and  as  early 
as  1 541  roast  turkey  was  there  regarded  as  one  of  the 
choicest  of  dainties. 

Ducks  and  geese,  on  the  other  hand,  are  natives  of  both 
the  Old  World  and  the  New.  We  have  many  wild  varieties 
of  these  fowls,  although  our  domestic  breeds  of  them  were 


POULTRY  — CHICKENS,  DUCKS,  GEESE,  AND  TURKEYS     131 

imported  from  Asia  and  Europe.  We  find  geese  and 
ducks  frequently  mentioned  in  history,  and  pictures  of  them 
are  to  be  seen  on  the  Egyptian  monuments  made  many 
thousand  years  ago.  It  was  the  cackling  of  the  geese  in 
the  Temple  of  Juno  that  once  warned  the  Romans  that 
their  enemies  were  coming,  and  thus  saved  the  Capitol ; 
and,  in  the  early  ages,  geese  were  reared  in  great  numbers 
in  western  Europe  and  driven  slowly  down  over  the  moun- 
tains to  be  sold  in  Rome  for  food. 

There  are  goose  farms  in  Holland  and  in  Germany  to- 
day ;  and  in  Berlin  is  a  goose  market,  where  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  these  fowls  are  sold  daily  throughout  the  year. 
The  Germans  eat  more  geese,  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  people  in  the  country,  than  any  other  nation.  They  are 
fond  of  roast  goose,  and  especially  of  goose-livers,  prepared 
as  patt  de  foie  gras.  The  demand  for  this  dainty  is  so 
great  that  the  geese  are  treated  cruelly  to  supply  it.  It 
has  been  found  that  the  liver  becomes  unnaturally  enlarged 
if  the  bird  is  overfed,  and  the  farmer  crams  food  down  its 
throat  long  after  it  has  had  all  that  it  would  otherwise  eat. 
The  goose  is  sometimes  kept  tied  up  close  to  the  fire,  in 
order  that  lack  of  exercise  and  heat  may  aid  in  its  fattening. 

There  are  ten  principal  breeds  of  ducks  raised  in  the 
United  States,  among  which  are  the  Pekin,  Aylesbury, 
Rouen,  Cayuga,  and  Muscovy.  The  Pekin  is  considered 
the  best.  It  came  from  China,  and  has  its  name  from  the 
capital  of  that  country.  These  birds  have  white  feathers, 
yellow  bills,  and  lead-colored  eyes.  They  grow  large,  and 
their  meat  is  delicious. 

Poultry  is  so  common  all  over  our  country  that  any  one 
can  easily  learn  how  the  different  kinds  are  reared  and  pre- 


132 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


pared  for  the  market.  The  fowls  are  fed  corn,  oats,  rye, 
or  meal ;  and  they  move  about  over  the  fields,  scratching 
out  worms  and  eating  insects  and  other  things.  Some- 
times they  are  sold  alive,  and  at  other  times  the  feathers 
are  picked  off  and  the  birds  cleaned  and  dressed  before 


A  duck  farm  in  the  United  States. 


they  are  sold.  Great  numbers  of  young  chickens  are  put 
away  in  cold  storage  and  sold  as  the  demand  for  them 
arises. 

But  let  us  look  at  the  poultry  industry  as  it  is  carried  on 
in  some  other  parts  of  the  world.  Our  Porto  Rican  cous- 
ins have  excellent  fowls ;  and  one  of  the  sights  of  their 
cities  is  the  poultry  peddler,  who  goes  through  the  streets 
with  a  dozen  or  more  live  chickens  slung  over  his  shoulder. 


POULTRY -CHICKENS,  DUCKS,  GEESE,  AND  TURKEYS     133 


The  legs  of  the  birds  are  tied  together,  and  their  loud 
squawking  is  mixed  with  his  cry  of  the  prices.  The  same 
man  may  carry  several  live  turkeys  under  his  arms.  Each 
of  these  birds  has  its  legs  and  wings  bound  tight  with 
strings,  and  it  is  then  wrapped  about  with  palm  bark,  so 
that  only  the  tail  feathers 
and  the  head  show  out  at 
the  ends. 

In  Java  and  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  chickens  are 
often  brought  to  the 
market  in  wicker  crates, 
with  meshes  so  wide  that 
the  birds  can  poke  their 
heads  through ;  and  in 
Manila  turkeys  are  some- 
times driven  through  the 
streets  and  sold,  as  it 
were,  on  the  hoof.  The 
Chinese  poultryman  car- 
ries his  live  wares  about 
in  two  big  wicker  baskets  >vanese  Poultr*  seller' 

tied  to  the  ends  of  a  pole  which  rests  upon  his  shoulder. , 
The  baskets  are  shaped  like  half  globes,  and  the  birds 
stand  in  them  and  thrust  their  heads  out  through  the  meshes. 
Other  peddlers  carry  dried  fowls,  which  are  as  common  in 
China  as  dried  beef  is  in  America.  There  are  packing  es- 
tablishments where  ducks  and  geese  are  killed,  and  then 
split  open,  cleaned,  and  dried  in  the  sun.  They  are  then 
pressed  and  salted,  after  which  they  will  keep  a  long  time. 

The  Chinese  are  famous  fowl  raisers.     They  have  books 


134  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

about  chickens,  ducks,  and  geese,  as  we  have.  They  use 
certain  foods  to  make  their  hens  lay  better,  and  they  be- 
lieve that  the  hens  which  cackle  the  least  over  their  eggs 
lay  best.  Does  not  this  remind  us  of  a  somewhat  similar 
trait  in  ourselves  ?  The  boy  or  girl  who  boasts  the  most 
usually  does  the  least  work. 

The  Chinese  seldom  eat  eggs  soft  boiled,  and  some  of 
them  think  that  the  best  tgg  is  one  which  is  many  years 
old.  They  have  a  way  of  pickling  and  preserving  eggs 
which  turns  them  as  black  as  jet;  and  the  flavor  of  eggs 
Sb  preserved,  like  that  of  fruit  cake,  is  supposed  to  improve 
as  the  months  go  on. 

Along  the  rivers  of  southern  China  there  are  large  duck 
and  goose  farms,  where  the  birds  are  carried  in  great  flat 
boats  from  one  marshy  place  to  another,  feeding  on  worms 
and  snails,  which  they  dig  from  the  mud  with  their  bills. 
The  author  has  seen  duck  boats  on  the  Pearl  River  near 
Canton,  on  each  of  which  lived  one  or  two  thousand  birds, 
of  all  ages  and  sizes.  The  owners  of  the  boats  were 
Chinese.  They  wore  big  hats,  blue  cotton  gowns,  and  wide 
pantaloons,  which  flapped  against  their  legs  as  they  moved 
about  directing  their  flocks.  The  men  have  such  control 
over  the  ducks  that  the  latter  will  go  off  and  on  the  boats 
when  called.  The  ducks  mind  quickly,  too,  and  perhaps 
the  better  because  the  last  bird  on  board  gets  a  sharp 
blow  from  the  bamboo  rod  of  the  herder. 

The  Chinese  were  hatching  chicken,  duck,  and  goose 
eggs  in  incubating  establishments  long  before  we  thought 
of  doing  so.  Now,  many  of  our  farmers  have  great  boxes 
heated  by  lamps,  hot  air,  or  hot  water,  in  such  a  way  that 
the  eggs  in  them  are  kept  at  the  same  temperature  they 


POULTRY  — CHICKENS,  DUCKS,  GEESE,  AND  TURKEYS     1 35 

would  be  if  under  the  mother  hens.  At  the  end  of  three 
weeks  the  eggs  have  hatched  into  little  fowls,  which  pick 
their  way  through  the  shells  into  the  world,  ready  to  be  fed 
and  reared  for  our  tables. 

In  the  Chinese  incubating  establishments  the  eggs  are 
placed  in  baskets  filled  with  heated  chaff,  and  are  kept  for 
twenty-four  hours  in  a  room  warmed  with  charcoal.  They 
are  then  carried  into  another  room,  not  so  warm,  put  into 
baskets  lined  with  paper,  and  moved  about  from  day  to 
day.  Later  still  they  are  wrapped  in  cotton  and  laid  upon 
shelves.  The  heat  is  so  regulated  in  these  rooms  that  a 
large  number  of  birds  may  hatch  at  one  time.  During 
almost  the  same  hour  a  thousand  little  bills  may  pick  their 
way  through  a  thousand  pale  blue  shells,  and  a  thousand 
soft,  yellow,  fluffy  ducklings  voice  forth  their  first  baby 
quacks. 

The  duck  farmers  keep  track  of  such  hatchings,  and  are 
on  hand  ready  to  buy  the  little  ones  almost  as  soon  as  they 
are  out  of  their  shells.  The  little  ducks  are  carried  to  the 
farms,  and  at  first  they  are  fed  on  rice  water  and  boiled 
rice,  and  clear  water  is  given  them  to  drink.  As  the  duck- 
lings grow  older,  they  eat  other  things,  and  within  a  few 
weeks  they  are  ready  to  take  their  ride  on  the  duck  boat 
and  to  forage  for  themselves. 

The  Chinese  have  ingenious  methods  for  keeping  hawks 
and  other  birds  of  prey  away  from  their  fowls.  The  goose 
or  duck  herder  often  has  a  bamboo  whistle  fastened  to  the 
end  of  a  long  whip,  so  that  it  makes  a  shrill  noise  when  he 
swings  it  through  the  air  above  his  head  ;  and  the  pigeons 
of  North  China  have  similar  whistles  so  tied  to  their  tail 
feathers    that   they  make   a  whirring  sound   as  they  fly. 


136  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD    IS   FED 

Whistles  are  also  used  by  the  natives  of  Java  to  protect 
their  pigeons  ;  and  both  pigeons  and  whistles  are  regularly 
sold  in  the  fowl  markets  of  some  Javanese  cities. 

Pigeons  are  eaten  in  many  parts  of  the  world.  They 
are  usually  ranked  as  game  birds ;  but  they  have  been 
domesticated,  and  in  our  country,  as  well  as  in  some  other 
places,  large  numbers  are  reared  for  the  markets.  They 
are  especially  delicious  when  they  are  three  or  four  weeks 
old,  at  which  time  they  are  known  as  squabs,  and  bring 
high  prices. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  the  last  century,  vast  numbers  of 
wild  pigeons  lived  in  the  forests  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
They  had  extensive  breeding  places,  and  their  roosts  cov- 
ered large  tracts  of  woods.  The  pigeons  were  sometimes 
so  many  that  they  broke  down  the  branches  of  the  trees, 
and  the  men  living  near  by  often  went  out  in  parties  to 
shoot  them.  The  men  knocked  the  birds  down  with  poles, 
stifled  them  by  burning  sulphur  under  the  roosts,  and  even 
cut  down  the  trees  to  bring  the  pigeons  to  the  ground. 
The  birds  were  eaten  both  fresh  and  salted,  and  were  even 
fed  to  the  hogs.  As  the  country  became  settled,  these 
wild  birds  disappeared. 

In  addition  to  the  fowls  we  have  already  mentioned, 
there  are  others  of  less  importance.  Guinea  fowl  are 
speckled  gray  birds,  about  the  size  of  a  small  chicken, 
which  are  reared  on  many  farms  for  their  flesh  and  their 
eggs.  Peafowl,  the  males  of  which  are  famous  for  their 
gorgeous  tails,  are  also  eaten. 

Eggs  are  used  as  food  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  not  only 
the  eggs  of  fowls,  but  those  of  certain  birds,  fish,  and 
even  of  reptiles,  such  as  turtles.     All  eggs  are  nutritious, 


POULTRY  — CHICKENS,  DUCKS,  GEESE,  AND  TURKEYS     1 37 

but  some  birds'  eggs  are  so  strong  in  flavor  that  we  do  not 
relish  them.  This  is  so  of  the  eggs  of  the  sea  fowl  found 
by  the  thousands  on  some  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  West  of  Hawaii  are  desert  islands  covered  with 
huge  eggs  of  birds.  These  eggs  are  collected  in  wheel- 
barrows by  men,  and  are  taken  to  the  coast  to  be  shipped, 
abroad  as  fertilizer  and  for  use  in  certain  manufactures. 

Along  the  Amazon  River  countless  turtles  bury  their 
eggs  in  the  sand.  The  eggs  are  of  about  the  size  of  a 
hen's  egg,  and  are  covered  with  a  leathery  skin  instead  of 
a  shell.  Each  turtle  lays  more  than  one  hundred  eggs,  and 
all  together  many  millions  are  deposited  in  a  season.  The 
eggs  are  dug  up  by  the  natives  and  made  into  turtle  oil 
and  turtle  butter. 

On  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  in  some  parts  of  South 
America  the  eggs  of  a  great  lizard,  called  the  iguana,  are 
greedily  eaten.  Among  the  greatest  delicacies  of  our  own 
country  are  terrapin  eggs,  served  in  a  stew  with  the  flesh 
of  that  reptile.  We. shall  learn  about  fish  eggs  when  we 
study  the  food  products  of  rivers  and  seas. 

The  only  Qgg  which  holds  an  important  place  in  industry 
and  commerce  is  the  hen's  Qgg.  It  ranks  amongst  the 
chief  animal  products  as  a  wealth  producer  and  food  stuff ; 
and  rearing  hens  for  their  eggs  is  one  of  the  profitable 
branches  of  farming  in  many  parts  of  Europe.  In  Den- 
mark eggs  by  the  millions  are  gathered  for  the  markets  of 
England.  The  Danish  farmers  are  so  particular  to  ship 
only  fresh  eggs,  that  the  man  who  puts  in  a  bad  Qgg  is 
fined  more  than  a  dollar  for  each  offense.  As  soon  as 
the  eggs  are  brought  in  to  the  shippers,  they  are  tested 
by  placing  them  upon  a  tray  of  wire  netting  and  holding 


138  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

them  over  a  bright  light.  If  the  eggs  are  good,  the 
light  will  shine  through  them ;  but  if  they  are  not,  they 
appear  dark  or  muddy.  In  Russia  hundreds  of  car  loads 
of  geese,  chickens,  and  eggs  go  over  the  railroads  in  one 
year;  and  the  value  of  these  exports  alone  amounts  to 
many  million  dollars. 

In   the    Korean   markets   eggs  are   sold   by  the  stick. 
They  are  laid  end  to  end  and  wrapped  around  with  straw 


A  bundle  of  eggs. 

so  that  ten  or  a  dozen  form  a  long  bundle.  A  string  is 
then  tied  about  the  straw  between  each  two  eggs,  and  they 
are  thus  kept  from  breaking. 

In  our  country  and  in  some  parts  of  Europe  eggs  are 
brought  to  the  markets  in  wooden  cases  with  many  paste- 
board compartments,  each  of  which  holds  an  egg.  Hun- 
dreds can  be  carried  in  this  way  in  a  box  without  breaking, 
and  car  loads  so  packed  are  sometimes  sent  from  one  end 
of  our  land  to  the  other. 

Our  egg  industry  produces  an  important  part  of  our  na- 
tional income.  The  hens  of  the  United  States  earn  for  us 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars  every  year. 
According  to  the  last  census  they  had  laid  twelve  hundred 
and  ninety-four  million  dozen  eggs  within  the  twelve  months 
preceding,  or  enough  to  give  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
in  our  country  two  hundred  eggs  and  leave  some  to  spare. 

Almost  all  our  eggs  are  consumed  at  home,  although 
in  some  years  we  send  a  few  million  dozen  to  England, 
Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  elsewhere. 


WILD  ANIMALS  USED  AS  FOOD  1 39 


16.    WILD   ANIMALS    USED   AS    FOOD 

THE  flesh  of  wild  animals  has  been  a  favorite  food  since 
the  days  of  Noah's  great  grandson,  Nimrod,  who,  the 
Bible  tells  us,  was  "a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord." 
In  some  countries  it  forms  the  chief  means  of  supporting 
life,  and  many  savages  depend  almost  entirely  upon  it  for 
food.  It  was  the  chief  food  of  the  American  Indians 
at  the  time  our  forefathers  came  to  this  country,  as  it 
is  of  the  Indians  in  the  northern  parts  of  our  continent 
to-day.  There  are  races  in  the  Philippines  who  do  little 
else  but  hunt;  and  in  South  America,  Africa,  and 
Australia  are  savages  who  depend  upon  the  chase  for 
their  existence. 

Long  ago  game  of  one  kind  or  another  was  to  be 
found  all  over  the  world.  There  were  birds  everywhere, 
deer  and  bear  roamed  the  forests,  and  upon  our  plains 
vast  herds  of  buffalo  made  a  noise  like  thunder,  as 
they  galloped  along.  As  the  world  became  settled, 
the  animals  disappeared ;  some,  like  the  buffalo,  dying  out 
almost  entirely,  and  others,  such  as  deer  and  bear,  being 
crowded  back  into  the  lands  that  are  still  wild.  To-day  the 
chief  hunting  grounds  of  our  continent  are  in  the  moun- 
tains and  on  the  plains  of  the  far  north,  near  the  Arctic 
Ocean.  There,  where  it  is  too  cold  for  man  to  live  in  com- 
fort,  are  the  caribou,  which  compare  in  number  with  the 
buffalo  of  our  past,  and  also  numerous  moose,  elk,  and 
gigantic  bear. 

Some  of  our  largest  game  is  found  in  the  Rockies  and 
the  Alleghanies ;    and  the  finest  wild  fowl  in  the  marshy 


140  POODS:    OR  HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 

lands  along  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  the  South  Atlantic  Coast, 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  in  the  lower  Mississippi  Valley. 

One  of  the  chief  wild  animals  used  as  food  is  the 
deer.  With  the  exception  of  Australia  and  South  Africa, 
it  is  found  all  over  the  world  ;  and  the  pleasure  of  hunting 
it  has  long  been  sounded  in  song  and  story.  Who  of  us 
does  not  remember  the  bold  Robin  Hood  and  his  band, 
who  hunted  in  the  forest  of  Sherwood  ;  and  who  has  not,  in 
his  imagination,  smacked  his  lips  over  the  delights  of  roast 
venison,  as  prepared  by  that  veteran  cook,  Friar  Tuck  ? 

Even  after  England  became  well  settled,  the  richer 
people  had  forests,  in  which  they  kept  deer  for  food  and 
the  chase  ;  and  there  are  extensive  woods  preserved  as 
hunting  grounds  in  Great  Britain,  and  especially  in  Scot- 
land to-day.  It  was  Lord  Clare,  the  owner  of  such  a  for- 
est, who  sent  Oliver  Goldsmith  a  haunch  of  venison,  which 
brought  out  his  poem  describing  it. 

"  Thanks,  my  Lord,  for  your  Venison,  for  a  finer  or  fatter 
Never  rang'd  in  a  forest,  or  smok'd  in  a  platter ; 
The  Haunch  was  a  picture  for  Painters  to  study. 
The  white  was  so  white,  and  the  red  was  so  ruddy ; 
Though  my  stomach  was  sharp,  I  could  scarce  help  regretting 
To  spoil  such  a  delicate  picture  by  eating. 
I  had  thoughts,  in  my  Chambers,  to  place  it  in  view, 
To  be  shown  to  my  friends  as  a  piece  of  virtu ; 
As  in  some  Irish  houses,  where  things  are  so-so, 
One  gammon  of  bacon  hangs  up  for  a  show  ;  — 
But,  for  eating  a  rasher  of  what  they  take  pride  in, 
They'd  as  soon  think  of  eating  the  pan  it  is  fried  in." 

There  are  more  than  fifty  varieties  of  deer  in  the  world, 
and  many  of  them  are  found  on  this  continent.  Our 
pioneer  forefathers  hunted  deer  almost  everywhere  in  the 


WILD  ANIMALS   USED   AS   FOOD 


I4I 


woods  of  the  eastern  parts  of  the  United  States.  Some 
are  still  to  be  found  in  the  Alleghanies,  in  the  wilder  parts 
of  the  south,  and  in  the  west,  even  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  beyond.  The  most  common  species  is  the  white- 
tailed  deer,  which  is  somewhat  smaller  than  the  red  deer 


Virginia  deer. 


of   Europe.     We   have   also   elk   and   moose,   which   are 
amongst  the  largest  of  the  deer  species. 

A  full-grown  elk  often  weighs  a  thousand  pounds ;  and 
the  moose  is  the  largest  animal  now  hunted  on  our  conti- 
nent. A  bull  moose  stands  six  feet  high  or  more  at  the 
shoulders,  and  its  weight  may  exceed  half  a  ton  ;  its  head 
is  large,  and  its  antlers  enormous.  Moose  meat  is  so 
delicious  and  moose  hunting  so  delightful,  that  the 
animals  have  almost  disappeared  from  our  country,  ex- 
cept in  parts  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  plateau,  and  in 
Alaska.     They  are  still  found  in  Montana,  and  in  Ontario, 


142 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


British  Columbia,  and  other  wild  parts  of  British  America, 
even  to  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

Our  elk  also  are  rapidly  passing  away.  They  formerly 
fed  on  the  prairies,  gathering  in  the  autumn  at  the  foot- 
hills of  the  mountains,  and  feeding  there  during  the  winter, 
after  pawing  down  through  the  snow  to  get  at  the  dry 
grass.     At  such    times  they  collected  together  in  bands, 

moving  about  in  com- 
panies of  thousands. 
Elk  meat  formed  an 
important  food  of 
the  Indians,  and  elk 
skins  were  often  used 
to  cover  their  lodges. 
Even  the  common 
small  deer  are  not 
easy  to  shoot.  They 
have  a  keen  sense 
of     hearing,     sight, 

Bull  moose.  an(J   smeU  .    an(J    the 

hunter  must  creep  up  without  noise  and  be  careful  to  have 
the  wind  blowing  toward  him  and  away  from  the  deer. 
The  animals  are  very  fleet,  and  can  run,  trot,  and  gallop,  at 
great  speed.  They  are  good  swimmers,  and  they  go  into 
the  lakes  and  rivers  during  the  summer  to  free  themselves 
of  flies  and  other  insects.  Often  they  feed  near  the  water 
at  night.  One  way  of  hunting  them  is  in  boats  after  dark. 
The  man  puts  a  bright  light  at  the  prow,  and  hides  behind 
a  screen  of  green  branches,  which  he  builds  up  back  of 
the  light.  His  gun  is  thrust  through  the  screen,  and  he 
keeps  his  eye  along  the  barrel  as  he  slowly  moves  through 


WILD  ANIMALS  USED   AS   FOOD 


H3 


the  water,  approaching  the  deer.  The  startled  animal 
stands  a  moment  in  wonder,  watching  the  light ;  and  the 
hunter  aims  at  his  shining  eyes,  which  catch  its  rays,  and 
thus  kills  him. 

In  Louisiana  deer  are  often  hunted  with  hounds,  and  in 
the  Alleghanies  they  are  "hounded,"  or  hunted,  upon  foot. 
In  the  Philippine  Islands  they  are  trapped  by  the  Negritos 
with  loops  of  rattan,  so  tied  to  the  branches  which  hang 
over  their  paths,  that  the  deer  are  caught  by  their  horns. 
The  loops  have 
slip  nooses  which 
tighten  as  the  ani- 
mals pull  away,  and 
the  little  black  men 
shoot  them  with 
bows  and  arrows 
before  they  can  get 
loose. 

Until  the  Great 
Plains  beyond  the 
Mississippi  River  were  settled  by  white  men,  there  was  one 
huge  animal  which  supplied  more  food  than  any  other.  It 
was  a  shaggy  beast  with  an  enormous  head  crowned  with 
short  black  horns,  a  woolly  brown  fur,  and  a  tail  and  hoofs 
somewhat  like  a  cow.  This  animal  fed  upon  the  grass  of 
the  prairies,  and  its  meat  was  delicious.  It  was  so  large 
that  a  bull  sometimes  weighed  almost  a  ton,  and  a  cow 
twelve  hundred  pounds  or  more.  This  was  the  American 
bison  or  "  buffalo." 

Such  an  animal,  we  can  easily  see,  would  supply  large 
quantities  of  food ;  and  when  we  learn  that  it  swarmed  in 


American  bison. 


144  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

countless  numbers  over  the  prairies,  we  can  realize  how 
much  it  meant  to  the  Indians.  As  long  as  the  buffalo 
lasted,  most  of  the  red  men  were  able  to  retain  their  in- 
dependence. Its  meat  was  their  principal  food.  They 
dried  the  beef  in  the  sun,  and  powdered  it  into  pemmican, 
in  which  shape  it  could  be  kept  for  months. 

It  is  difficult  to  comprehend  the  vast  extent  of  this 
wild  meat  supply  of  the  past.  The  buffaloes  have  dis- 
appeared from  the  plains,  and  only  a  few  hundred  of 
them  are  now  to  be  found  in  our  government  parks  and  in 
some  of  our  zoological  gardens.  At  one  time  they  roamed 
over  our  continent  from  Mexico  to  as  far  north  as  the 
Great  Slave  Lake,  and  from  the  Rockies  to  the  Alleghanies. 
There  were  scattered  herds  on  the  Rocky  Mountain 
plateau,  and  some  in  Pennsylvania  and  in  New  York,  and 
even  near  the  place  where  Washington  City  now  stands. 

These  animals  moved  about  in  vast  herds.  As  late  as 
forty  or  fifty  years  ago,  they  fed  by  the  millions  on  the  Great 
Plains.  In  1868  a  traveler  upon  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road wrote  that  his  train  passed  through  a  buffalo  herd 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  long.  George  Catlin,  an 
explorer,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  on  our 
western  plains,  before  the  destruction  of  the  buffalo,  says 
that  these  animals  were  then  so  many  that  their  bellowing 
sounded  like  thunder,  and  that  the  Indians  killed  them  by 
hundreds  of  thousands  for  their  skins,  which  they  sold  to 
the  white  traders  for  a  pittance. 

One  would  not  think  that  such  immense  herds  could  be 
destroyed  in  a  few  years ;  but  buffaloes  are  dull  and  stupid 
in  many  ways,  and  they  easily  became  the  prey  of  the 
hunters.     White  men  shot  them* for  food.  -  Thousands  of 


WILD  ANIMALS   USED   AS   FOOD  1 45 

them  were  killed  for  their  tongues,  or  for  a  single  slice 
from  the  hump.  The  rest  of  the  meat  often  went  to  waste. 
When  sold  fresh  it  brought  only  two  or  three  cents  a 
pound.  In  1873  one  western  railroad  alone  carried  a 
quarter  of  a  million  buffalo  robes  ;  and  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  thousand  pounds  of  buffalo  hides  were  sold  every 
year. 

Bear  meat  was  another  game  food  in  pioneer  days,  and 
it  is  still  eaten  in  parts  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  in 
Alaska.  Bears  are 
native  to  the  wilder 
parts  of  Europe,  Asia, 
North  America,  and 
the  Andean  region 
of  South  America. 
They  are  not  found 
in  Australia,  nor  in 
Africa,  except  in 
the  Atlas  Mountains. 

These     animals     are  Black  bear- 

bulky  and  clumsy;  but  they  can  move  rapidly,  neverthe- 
less, and  are  dangerous  when  attacked.  They  will  stand 
upon  their  hind  feet  and,  seizing  their  enemy  in  their 
great  arms,  will  give  him  a  crushing  hug,  while  they  tear 
away  his  flesh  with  their  teeth.  They  are  especially  fond 
of  fish,  fruit,  berries,  grass,  vegetables,  insects,  and  honey. 
They  usually  live  in  pairs,  each  family  having  its  home  in 
a  cave  or  dense  thicket,  whence  they  go  out  either  by  day 
or  by  night  to  forage  for  food. 

Africa  is  the  chief  continent  where  big  game  now  thrives. 
It  is  a  land  of  elephants,  hippopotamuses,  rhinoceroses, 

FOODS — 10 


I46  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

giraffes,  zebras,  and  countless  antelopes.  It  also  has  lions, 
leopards,  gorillas,  and  other  wild  animals  which  man  does 
not  use  for  food. 

Elephant  meat  is  much  prized  by  the  natives,  as  is  also 
the  meat  of  the  rhinoceros  and  of  the  hippopotamus. 
Almost  every  bit  of  these  animals  is  eaten,  a  whole  tribe 


African  elephant. 

having  a  feast  after  a  killing.  The  best  parts  of  the  ele- 
phant are  its  trunk,  feet,  and  fat,  and  of  these  parts,  the  feet 
are  considered  the  most  delicious.  They  are  cooked  in  an 
odd  way.  A  hole  is  dug  in  the  ground  and  lined  with 
stones.  A  fire  is  then  built,  and  when  the  stones  are  red- 
hot,  the  ashes  and  coals  are  removed  and  the  great  foot, 
having  been  washed,  is  placed  in  it.  A  few  sticks  are  now 
laid  over  the  top  and  green  leaves  spread  upon  them,  and 


RABBITS,   SQUIRRELS,  AND   GAME   BIRDS  1 47 

last  comes  a  thick  coating  of  earth,  making  a  tight  cover- 
ing to  this  curious  bake  oven.  The  foot  is  left  in  for 
several  hours,  and  becomes  thoroughly  cooked.  If  the 
elephant  is  young,  the  meat  of  the  foot  is  so  tender  that  it 
can  be  taken  up  with  a  spoon. 

Giraffes  and  zebras  are  also  eaten  by  the  Africans,  and 
antelopes  are  hunted  for  food  by  the  whites  as  well  as  the 
natives.  Many  European  sportsmen  go  to  Africa  for  the 
purpose  of  killing  the  big  game  which  there  abounds. 


>»« 


17.    RABBITS,  SQUIRRELS,  AND  GAME  BIRDS 

WILD  birds,  rabbits,  and  squirrels  are  amongst  the 
most  delicious  of  foods.  Roast  canvasback  duck, 
broiled  quail  on  toast,  squirrel  pie,  and  young  rabbit  stew 
—  we  smack  our  lips  as  we  think  of  them.  We  have  heard 
their  praises  sung  since  we  were  infants,  beginning  with  the 
rabbit  which  papa  went  to  hunt  for  little  "  Bye  O  Baby 
Bunting,"  and  the  "  Dainty  Dish  set  before  the  King," 
containing  four  and  twenty  blackbirds  baked  in  a  pie. 

Rabbits  are  trapped  and  hunted  in  many  parts  of  our 
country.  Near  the  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  they 
increase  so  rapidly  that  the  people  turn  out  in  great  parties 
and  drive  them  from  a  wide  extent  of  territory  into  one 
place,  where  they  kill  them  by  thousands.  In  Australia 
the  rabbits  descended  from  a  few  pairs  imported  from  Eng- 
land have  so  multiplied  that  they  are  now  a  great  pest. 
There  are  many  millions  of  these  little  animals,  and,  do 
what  they  will,  the  people  cannot  destroy  them.     They  are 


148  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

shot,  trapped,  and  poisoned,  but  they  number  more  every 
year;  so  that  now  the  farmers  have  built  woven  wire 
fences  about  the  pastures  to  keep  them  out,  and  thus  pre- 
serve the  grass  for  the  stock.  In  New  Zealand  similar 
conditions  exist,  and  many  thousand  wild  rabbits  are  an- 
nually killed  there,  in  order  that  their  carcasses  may  be 


A  rabbit  drive  in  the  west. 

shipped  to  England.  The  rabbits  are  prepared  in  the 
frozen  meat  factories,  and  are  exported,  with  the  fur  on, 
across  the  oceans  in  cold  storage  chambers. 

Hares  are  like  rabbits,  only  larger.  They  are  found  all 
over  Europe,  excepting  in  Ireland,  Scandinavia,  and  north- 
ern Russia.  Canada  has  a  species  of  polar  hare,  and  we 
have  large  hares  on  our  western  plains  known  as  jack-rab- 


RABBITS,  SQUIRRELS,  AND  GAME  BIRDS 


149 


bits.  These  animals  are  famous  for  their  speed.  They 
leap  over  the  earth  in  high  bounds,  covering  as  much  as 
fifteen  feet  at  one  jump.  Like  rabbits,  they  increase  rap- 
idly, and  the  farmers  in  certain  sections  of  our  country 
make  hare-proof  fences  to  keep  them  out  of  the  fields  and 
orchards.  The  people  in  these  sections  sometimes  have 
what  is  called  a  "  drive."  All  the  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren gather  in  a  circle  about  a  square  mile  or  more  of 
space,  and  drive  the  hares  into  an  enclosure,  where  they 
are  slaughtered  with  clubs. 

Squirrels  are  hunted  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States. 
They  are  found  all  over  the  world,  except  in  Australia,  and 
most  abundantly  in  India 
and  southern  Asia.  They 
belong  to  the  same  ani- 
mal family  as  rats ;  but 
they  live  in  the  woods, 
some  making  their  nests 
in  the  ground,  and  others 
in  hollow  trees. 

There  are  a  great  va- 
riety of  squirrels.  Some  Gra^  s<*uirreL 
are  gray,  some  reddish  brown,  and  some  black ;  some 
kinds  are  not  bigger  than  a  mouse,  and  others  are  as 
large  as  a  kitten.  The  most  common  squirrel  in  our 
country  is  the  red  squirrel,  which  is  only  eight  inches  long. 
This  little  animal  is  found  almost  everywhere  in  our  moun- 
tains. It  lives  in  the  trees  and  subsists  largely  upon  nuts, 
although  it  often  eats  grain,  birds'  eggs,  young  birds,  and 
even  fruit.  The  fox  squirrel  lives  east  of  the  Great  Plains 
and  in  the  Southern  States.     It  is  quite  large,  being  often 


150  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE    WORLD   IS   FED 

a  foot  or  more  long.  Its  color  ranges  from  gray  to  jet 
black,  and  it  has  a  beautiful  bushy  tail,  which  is  somewhat 
longer  than  its  head  and  body. 

The  gray  squirrel  is  one  of  the  chief  game  animals  of 
New  England  and  the  North  Central  States.  There  is  a 
gray  squirrel  in  California  which  is  noted  for  its  large  size 
and  its  black  tail ;  while  in  the  southwestern  parts  of  the 
United  States  are  chestnut-backed  gray  squirrels  which 
have  tufts  on  their  ears.  All  these  little  animals  are  killed 
with  rifles  and  shotguns;  but  the  rifle  is  preferred/ as  it 
carries  but  one  ball,  the  hunter  trying  to  shoot  the  squirrel 
in  the  head,  so  as  not  to  destroy  the  meat. 

Let  us  now  take  a  look  at  some  of  our  big  feathered 
game.  We  have  many  kinds,  the  largest  of  which  is  the 
wild  turkey.  This  is  much  like  the  tame  bird  of  the  same 
name,  and,  indeed,  it  is  the  parent  of  the  domestic  turkey 
throughout  the  world.  Wild  turkeys  were  once  found  in 
all  parts  of  our  country,  but  they  have  now  disappeared, 
except  in  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  in  the  wild  lands 
of  the  south  and  the  west.  They  are  hunted  with  rifles, 
the  sportsman  often  calling  them  to  him  with  a  whistle 
made  of  the  wing  bone  of  the  bird.  The  call  used  is  an  imi- 
tation of  that  of  the  wild  turkey  gobbler.  After  the  man 
gobbles  a  time  or  so,  any  wild  male  turkey  that  may  be 
near  will  answer,  and,  perhaps,  lead  his  flock  toward  the 
hunter.  Turkeys  always  go  about  in  flocks,  and  they  have 
fixed  roosting  places.  Men  hide  near  the  roosts,  and  shoot 
the  birds  by  the  light  of  the  moon. 

Other  large  game  birds  common  to  North  America  are 
wild  geese  and  ducks,  many  of  which  spend  the  summer 
in  the  cold  lands  of  the  north  and  come  south  in  our  au- 


RABBITS,   SQUIRRELS,   AND   GAME  BIRDS 


151 


tumn,  going  on  farther  toward  the  Equator  as  the  streams 
and  lakes  freeze.  The  Canadian,  goose,  which  is  the  most 
common,  is  found  in  flocks  of  thousands  about  Hudson 
Bay,  and  even  farther  north.  It  forms  a  large  part  of  the 
food  supply  of  the  Indians  and  the  white  fur  traders  who 
inhabit  those  regions.  The  geese  fly  southward  in  such 
numbers  that  a  flock  often  looks  like  a  great  white  sheet 
spread  out  over  the  sky.     They  feed  about  our  lakes  and 


Shooting  wild  ducks. 


are  attracted  by  means  of  decoys,  or  imitation  geese  made 
of  wood  or  iron,  placed  upon  the  water.  The  hunters  imi- 
tate the  call  of  the  geese  and  thus  get  them  to  light  or  to 
stop  a  moment  in  their  flight. 

We  have  wild  ducks  along  our  rivers  and  lakes,  and  also 
in  the  marshy  lands  of  the  seacoast,  and  especially  in  places 
like  Chesapeake  Bay.  Shooting  ducks  is  great  sport. 
The  birds  are  wary,  and  the  hunters  lie  down  in  boxes 


152  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

or  boats  in  the  marshes,  and  wait  for  them  to  come  near. 
Sometimes  the  men  have  blinds  or  screens  of  reeds,  behind 
which  they  lie  until  the  birds  come  near  enough  to  be 
shot  They  also  use  decoys  painted  to  look  like  the  living 
ducks  that  frequent  the  flats.  These  little  wooden  birds 
float  upon  the  water  not  far  from  the  blinds;  and  when 
the  live  ducks  come  up  to  make  friends  with  them,  bang 
goes  the  gun,  and  the  ducks  are  food  for  our  tables. 

The  most  famous  of  all  these  ducks  is  the  canvasback, 
a  handsome  fowl  with  a  head  of  dark  chestnut  red,  a 
white  back,  and  a  black  bill  and  breast  This  duck  is 
especially  delicious  after  feeding  upon  the  wild  celery  of 
the  Chesapeake  Bay.  It  is  sometimes  called  the  king  of 
American  ducks,  and  it  commands  the  highest  price  in  the 
market  Another  delicious  duck  is  the  redhead,  which 
may  be  shot  along  the  bays  of  our  Atlantic  Coast  and  also 
about  the  Great  Lakes  and  in  Canada.  Other  well-known 
ducks  are  the  teal  and  mallard,  found  on  our  rivers. 

Have*  you  ever  eaten  a  prairie  chicken  ?  Its  flesh  is 
excellent,  and  it  graces  the  tables  of  many  families  in 
our  Western  States.  It  is  also  hunted  in  Canada.  These 
birds  are  almost  as  large  as  some  varieties  of  the  domestic 
chicken.  They  live  in  the  open  country,  building  their 
nests  on  the  ground  and  laying  twelve  or  fifteen  eggs  be- 
fore setting.  Toward  winter  they  gather  in  vast  flocks 
and  may  sometimes  be  seen,  even  in  the  half-settled  coun- 
try, seated  on  the  fences  and  about  the  haystacks.  They 
are  hunted  with  dogs  and  are  not  difficult  to  shoot  They 
are  a  kind  of  grouse,  belonging  to  a  bird  family  of  many 
varieties,  which  are  found  in  different  parts  of  the  world. 

Among  the  most   common  of  our  smaller   game  birds 


FISH   IN   GENERAL  1 53 

is  the  partridge,  sometimes  known  as  the  quaiL  This  is 
found  both  in  Europe  and  in  our  country.  It  is  also  called 
the  bobwhite,  because  its  whistle  sounds  like  those  words. 

The  bobwhites  live  in  the  grass  and  the  bushes,  going 
about  in  flocks  which  make  a  great  whirring  noise  as  they 
fly.  Hunters  scare  up  the  birds  with  dogs  and  shoot  them 
as  they  rise.  A  favorite  way  of  serving  quail  is  upon 
toast,  after  broiling  them  over  the  coals ;  and  a  fat  young 
bird  so  cooked  is  a  dish  for  a  king. 

The  bobolinks,  or  reedbirds,  are  killed  by  thousands 
every  autumn  in  the  marshes  near  and  along  the  coasts 
of  our  South  Atlantic  States.  They  are  little  birds,  one 
being  not  much  more  than  a  mouthful  when  cooked,  but 
their  flesh  is  so  delicious  that  great  numbers  of  them  are 
shipped  to  the  northern  markets.  Snipe  are  also  shot  in 
the  marshes.  We  have  other  game  birds  of  less  value  in 
different  parts  of  our  country. 


18.    FISH    IN    GENERAL 

EVER  since  our  forefathers  came  to  America,  fish 
has  formed  one  of  our  principal  foods.  When  the  • 
Pilgrims  went  to  King  James  for  their  charter,  they  told 
him  they  wanted  to  go  to  the  New  World  "to  worship 
God  and  catch  fish.''  They  did  both,  and  to-day  New 
England  fishermen  supply  the  most  of  the  sea  food  of  our 
Eastern  States.  They  fish  not  only  along  our  own  coast, 
but  they  sail  to  the  Grand  Banks  of  Newfoundland  and 
elsewhere  to  ply  their  trade. 


154 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


The  New  Englanders,  however,  are  by  no  means  our 
only  fishermen.  In  this  country  almost  a  quarter  of  a 
million  people  are  engaged  in  fishing.  This  industry  is 
carried  on  all  along  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Coasts, 
upon  the  Great  Lakes,  upon  the  Mississippi  River  and  its 
tributaries,    and   along   the   shores   of    southern    Alaska. 


A  New  England  fisherman. 


Many  thousand  vessels  are  required  for  this  work ;  and  the 
product  annually  sells  for  more  than  fifty  million  dollars. 
Our  fish  catch  amounts  to  two  thousand  million  pounds 
in  one  year.  If  it  were  loaded  upon  wagons,  at  a  ton  to 
the  wagon,  each  hauled  by  two  mules,  just  about  all  the 
mules  in  the  United  States  would  be  required  to  drag 
the  load. 


FISH   IN   GENERAL  I  55 

Of  this  quantity,  the  larger  part  comes  from  our  New 
England  and  Middle  Atlantic  Coasts.  About  one  tenth 
comes  from  the  South  Atlantic  Coast  and  me  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico, and  an  equal  amount  from  the  coast  streams  and  the 
waters  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  We  annually  catch  millions 
of  pounds  of  salmon  in  Alaska  and  about  one  hundred 
million  pounds  of  white  and  other  fish  in  the  Great  Lakes. 

The  fishing  industry  of  Canada  is  enormous,  and  so  is 
that  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Norway,  and  other  European 
countries,  as  well  as  of  Japan,  China,  and  many  other  parts 
of  the  world.  The  oceans,  lakes,  and  rivers  greatly  aid  in 
the  support  of  man ;  and  their  supplies  of  food  seem  to  be 
inexhaustible.  Take  the  herring.  It  is  one  of  the  small- 
est of  our  commercial  fishes,  but,  nevertheless,  fifteen 
hundred  million  pounds  of  it  are  eaten  in  one  year. 
Twenty-five  million  pounds  of  cod  are  annually  caught  to 
supply  the  demand  for  dried  codfish  alone. 

We  can  hardly  conceive  of  the  immense  quantity  of  food 
man  annually  takes  from  the  lakes,  rivers,  and  seas ;  and 
one  might  think  that  in  time  the  fish  would  all  be  caught, 
and  the  favorite  varieties  at  least  disappear,  as  have  the 
buffalo  and  some  other  species  of  game. 

It  is  cheering  to  know  that  there  is  no  danger  of  this 
taking  place.  As  we  shall  see  further  on,  our  government 
is  always  planting  in  our  waters  such  fishes  as  are  likely 
to  give  out;  and  scientists  tell  us  the  world's  supply  of 
fish  is  so  enormous  that  there  will  probably  be  enough 
for  all  time  to  come.  Professor  Huxley,  for  instance, 
describes  the  vast  shoals  of  cod  found  off  the  shores  of 
Norway  which  the  natives  call  cod  mountains.  He  says 
the  fish  move  along  in  great  masses,  often  from  one  hun- 


156  FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

dred  and  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  deep  ;  and 
he  estimates  that  one  such  shoal  a  mile  square  contains 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  million  cod,  or  enough  to 
give  one  fish  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  our  land, 
and  leave  millions  to  spare. 

Fish  increase  rapidly.  They  yield  eggs  in  such  quanti- 
ties as  would  hush  the  cackle  of  the  proudest  hen,  could 
she  but  know  it.  Bertram,  in  his  book  "  The  Harvest  of 
the  Sea,"  says  that  he  counted  seven  million  eggs  in  the 
roe  of  one  sturgeon,  and  that  the  codfish  lays  more  than 
three  million  eggs  at  a  time.  Various  other  varieties  of 
fish  lay  more  or  less,  but  every  single  fish  produces  so 
many  thousand  eggs  that  we  might  think  that  the  waters 
would  soon  be  solid  fish.  And  so  they  would  be,  in  some 
places,  were  it  not  that  the  fish  eat  each  other,  the  larger 
varieties  feeding  upon  the  smaller ;  and  that  birds,  reptiles, 
and  men  are  all  fond  of  this  food  and  use  every  means  in 
their  power  to  get  it. 

Let  us  visit  some  of  our  great  fishing  grounds  and 
observe  how  these  finny  creatures  are  caught  and  prepared 
for  the  markets.  We  shall  first  sail  along  the  Atlantic 
Coast  to  watch  them  catching  cod,  halibut,  mackerel,  and 
herring,  which  are  found  in  great  numbers  on  the  Banks, 
or  shoal  waters,  of  the  North  Atlantic  Ocean.  Fishermen 
go  out  in  schooners  and  other  boats,  with  their  nets  and 
lines,  often  remaining  away  from  home  for  months  at  a 
time.  More  than  seven  thousand  American  fishermen  are 
engaged  in  cod  fishing  alone,  and  their  catch  annually 
sells  for  several  million  dollars.  The  Canadians  get  fully 
as  many,  and  altogether  about  twenty  million  dollars'  worth 
of  cod  are  marketed  in  a  single  year. 


FISH   IN   GENERAL  1 57 

Cod  are  found  in  the  Atlantic  as  far  south  as  Cape 
Hatteras  and  as  far  north  as  the  Arctic  Ocean.  In  the 
Pacific  they  swim  along  the  shores  of  Oregon,  Washing- 
ton, and  British  Columbia,  and  also  of  Japan  and  southern 
Alaska.  The  most  of  our  catch  comes  from  the  North 
Atlantic   and   especially   from   the  banks  off  Newfound- 


Cod  fishing  with  lines  and  trawls. 

land  and  New  England.  According  to  the  laws  of 
nations,  the  people  of  any  country  have  the  sole  right 
to  fish  within  three  miles  of  its  shores,  but  outside  that 
limit  the  sea  is  free  to  all ;  and  therefore  fishermen 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  can  come  to  any  good  fish- 
ing grounds  that  are  three  miles  beyond  the  coast.  Men 
from  many  different  countries  fish  along  the  Grand 
Banks  of  Newfoundland,  which  have  been  long  famous 
for  their  cod. 

Every  spring  fishing  schooners  start  out  from  Glouces- 
ter, Boston,  or  other  New  England   ports  for  the  Grand 


i58 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


Banks.  They  are  well  supplied  with  food  for  the  men 
and  salt  for  curing  the  fish  as  fast  as  they  are  taken.  The 
boats  are  good  sailers,  the  captains  are  well-seasoned  ship- 
masters, and  the  crews  are  experienced  fishermen.  The 
men  are  not  hired  by  the  day ;  but  they  usually  work  to- 
gether as  partners,  each  taking  his  share  when  the  catch 


A  fishing  schooner. 

is  sold  after  they  return  home.  The  fishermen  usually 
leave  in  the  latter  part  of  May  or  June  and  spend  several 
months  getting  their  cargo.  They  anchor  their  schooner 
on  some  good  feeding  ground  and  then  go  out  in  small 
boats  to  fish  with  lines  and  trawls. 

Cod  are  deep  sea  feeders.     They  eat  all  sorts  of  marine 
animals,  including  oysters,  lobsters,  crabs,  and  fish ;  and 


FISH   IN   GENERAL 


159 


they  delight  in  moving  along  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Those 
caught  for  the  market  are  usually  taken  at  depths  of 
twenty,  thirty,  or  forty  fathoms,  the  men  of  a  crew  often 
filling  a  boat  at  one  fishing.  At  the  close  of  each  day  the 
fishermen  all  come  back  to  the  schooner ;  the  boats  with 
the  fish  in  them  are  slung  upon  deck,  and  the  cod  are 


Salting  house  in  Newfoundland. 


cleaned,  salted,  and  stored  away  in  the  hold.  There  is 
great  rivalry  amongst  the  crew  as  to  which  boat  shall  catch 
the  most  fish,  and  the  life  is  dangerous  and  interesting.  If 
you  would  know  more  about  it,  I  advise  you  to  read 
Rudyard  Kipling's  boy  story,  "  Captains  Courageous,"  in 
which   Harvey,  the  son  of  a  millionaire,  who  has  always 


i6o 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD  IS   FED 


had  his  every  wish  gratified,  falls  into  the  sea  from  the 
deck  of  an  ocean  steamer,  while  crossing  the  Grand  Banks, 
and  is  picked  up  by  a  fishing  schooner.  The  captain  dis- 
believes his  story  of  a  rich  father,  and  Harvey  is  forced 
to  work  with  the  men.  He  helps  to  clean  the  cod,  to 
salt    them,    and   to  pack   them    away  in    the   hold.     He 


Drying  cod  at  St.  John's,  Newfoundland. 


resists  at  first,  but  he  soon  learns  to  obey,  and  the  hard 
work  and  many  admirable  qualities  of  the  fishermen  teach 
him  to  respect  labor  and  make  a  man  of  him. 

After  the  fish  are  brought  home  they  are  placed  in  hogs- 
heads filled  with  brine  and  are  allowed  to  soak  until  the 
time  comes  for  curing  them.     The  cod  are.  then  taken  out 


FISH   IN   GENERAL  l6l 

and  dried  in  the  sun.  They  are  now  ready  to  be  packed 
and  shipped  to  different  parts  of  our  own  and  other 
countries  as  salted  cod,  in  which  shape  we  may  find  them 
in  almost  any  grocery  store.  We  prepare  enough  dried  cod- 
fish every  year  to  give  one  pound  to  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  the  United  States ;  and  we  export  large  quan- 
tities to  other  countries.  The  chief  markets  for  this  fish 
are  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  and  Brazil. 

Two  other  sea  fishes  exported  to  all  parts  of  the  country 
are  mackerel  and  halibut.  Halibut  are  found  in  all  northern 
seas,  and  our  fishermen  catch  them  on  the  Grand  Banks  of 
Newfoundland  and  even  along  the  coasts  of  Iceland  and 
Greenland.  Some  are  brought  to  the  markets  packed  in 
ice,  and  others  are  cured  by  smoking. 

The  mackerel  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  the  Atlantic 
food  fishes  ;  and  catching  it  is  an  important  industry  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  Norway,  Canada,  and  our  own  coun- 
try. These  fish  swim  about  in  schools  so  large  that  if  all 
were  caught,  one  big  school  would  fill  a  million  barrels. 
Mackerel  like  to  wander.  They  go  into  the  deep  sea  in 
the  winter  and  return  to  the  shores  in  the  spring,  swimming 
northward  as  the  weather  grows  warmer. 

Most  of  our  mackerel  fishermen  start  out  from  Glouces- 
ter, Massachusetts,  sailing  south  in  the  early  spring,  to 
meet  the  fish  when  they  first  appear  off  the  coasts  of  the 
Southern  and  Middle  States.  The  catch  is  then  landed 
fresh  in  New  York  or  Philadelphia.  Later  they  go  north- 
ward to  southern  Nova  Scotia  and  follow  the  schools  on 
into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  Many  of  the  best  fishing 
vessels  of  the  United  States  are  engaged  in  catching  mack- 
erel ;  and  in  some  years  one  thousand  boats  have  been  so 

FOODS —  II 


1 62  FOODS:    OR   HOW   THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

employed.  Mackerel  are  often  salted  and  sold  in  kegs 
throughout  the  country.  A  bit  of  salt  mackerel,  boiled  or 
broiled,  is  delicious  for  breakfast,  and  the  Spanish  mackerel 
is  one  of  our  choicest  food  fishes  when  fresh  from  the  sea. 

"  Herring,  herring,  two  for  a  penny, 
Ar'nt  you  ashamed  to  eat  so  many  ?" 

This  is  a  common  cry  among  the  children  of  England 
and  also  of  parts  of  the  United  States.  Herring  are 
eaten  annually  throughout  the  civilized  world  to  the  extent 
of  millions  of  barrels.  Enough  are  caught  in  one  year  to 
supply  one  pound  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  upon 
earth.  Most  of  these  fish  are  taken  in  the  North  Sea, 
although  some  are  caught  in  our  waters. 

Herrings  are  sold  in  the  markets  —  fresh,  pickled,  and 
smoked ;  about  twenty-five  million  are  annually  frozen, 
and  a  large  number  are  used  as  bait  for  cod.  In  Maine 
the  young  ones  are  extensively  canned  as  sardines,  and 
they  are  said  to  taste  quite  as  well  as  the  sardines  of  Eu- 
rope, which  come  chiefly  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and 
the  Bay  of  Biscay. 

Sardines  are  usually  put  up  with  olive  oil,  in  flat  cans, 
the  little  fish  being  laid  so  close  together  that  a  common 
expression  for  crowding  or  packing  has  come  to  be  "  as 
tight  as  sardines  in  a  box." 

In  addition  to  the  varieties  already  mentioned,  there 
are  many  other  sea  fish  which  regularly  appear  in  our 
markets.  Among  the  most  important  are  smelts,  had- 
docks, sea  bass,  sheepshead,  tautogs,  bluefish,  and  shad. 
The  two  latter  are  caught  in  large  quantities  all  along 
the  Atlantic  Coast,  the  shad  being  taken  when  they  come 
into  the  sea  from  the  streams  to  lay  their  eggs. 


SALMON  163 

Shad  is  one  of  the  sweetest  of  all  sea  foods.  Its  flesh 
is  rich  and  its  eggs  are  considered  a  delicacy  ;  but  it  has 
so  many  bones  that  it  must  be  carefully  eaten.  A  favorite 
way  of  cooking  it  is  to  split  it  open,  clean  it,  and  nail  it  to 
a  hickory  plank.  The  plank  is  then  stood  upon  end  in 
front  of  burning  coals,  and  the  shad  broiled.  It  is  now 
served  upon  the  charred  wood  as  planked  shad.  It 
makes   our    mouths   water   to   think  of   it. 


>**< 


19.    SALMON 

IN  1867,  when  our  government  bought  Alaska  from  Rus- 
sia for  seven  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and 
thereby  added  almost  one  fifth  as  much  land  as  we  then 
had  to  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  the  purchase  was 
criticised  as  a  shameful  waste  of  the  public  money.  We 
had  bought,  so  the  fault-finders  said,  a  barren  desert  of 
snow  and  ice  in  an  Arctic  region,  incapable  of  cultivation, 
whose  only  treasures  were  the  seals  that  might  be  killed 
along  its  coasts.  The  government  was  charged  with  hav- 
ing squandered  the  money  of  the  people,  and  it  was  said 
that  shrewd  Russia  was  laughing  in  her  sleeve  over  our 
simplicity. 

It  may  be  that  Russia  did  laugh  at  that  time ;  but,  if  so, 
she  is  probably  sighing  now ;  for  Alaska  has  since  paid  us 
back  her  purchase  price  many  times  over  in  salmon  alone, 
to  say  nothing  of  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  whales,  furs, 
and  gold.  In  1902  we  sold  Alaskan  salmon  to  the  amount 
of  more  than  twelve  million  dollars ;  and  the  salmon  caught 


1 64  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

in  one  year  in  the  Alaskan  streams  often  bring  more  than 
the  sum  we  paid  for  the  whole  country. 

The  salmon  is  one  of  the  most  profitable  of  our  food 
fishes.  It  is  caught  all  along  the  Pacific  Coast  from  the 
Gulf  of  Monterey  to  Alaska,  also  in  the  Arctic  streams  of 
that  territory,  including  the  mighty  Yukon.  Another 
variety  of  salmon  is  found  in  the  rivers  which  flow  into  the 
northern  Atlantic  Ocean.  Hendrick  Hudson  reported 
that  he  saw  salmon  in  the  Hudson  River  when  he  first  ex- 
plored it  in  1609;  and  the  fish  is  caught  to-day  in  the 
waters  of  Maine  and  eastern  Canada  and  also  in  some 
streams  of  northern  Europe  and  eastern  Asia. 

The  most  important  of  all  salmon  are  those  of  the  Pa- 
cific Coast.  They  form  one  of  the  chief  food  fishes  of 
commerce ;  they  are  eaten  almost  everywhere  in  our  coun- 
try, and  are  also  exported  to  England  and  other  parts  of 
Europe,  to  China,  Japan,  India,  and  the  Philippine  Islands, 
and  even  to  Australia  and  Africa. 

Many  million  dollars  are  invested  in  catching  and  can? 
ning  salmon.  There  are  some  towns,  such  as  Astoria,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  where  the  people  do 
little  else  ;  there  are  others,  like  Bellingham  on  Puget  Sound, 
where  the  canning  houses  employ  hundreds  of  hands ;  and 
there  are  single  factories  where  as  many  as  half  a  million 
cans  of  fish  are  put  up  in  one  day.  From  the  Columbia 
River  alone,  up  to  the  beginning  of  this  century,  seventy- 
five  million  dollars'  worth  of  these  fish  had  been  exported. 
Vast  quantities  are  annually  taken  from  Puget  Sound ;  and, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  product  of  Alaska  is  enormous. 

There  are  several  species  of  these  Pacific  Coast  salmon, 
some  large  and  some  comparatively  small.     The  quinnat, 


SALMON 


I65 


'%». 


or  chinook,  is  the  king  of  all  salmon.     In  the  Yukon  River 

it  sometimes  weighs  as  much  as  one  hundred  pounds,  and 

in  the  Columbia  River  eighty  pounds  or  more.     James  G. 

Blaine,  our  famous  American  statesman,  once  received  a 

present   of   an    eighty-pound   chinook   from   his    Oregon 

friends.     The  great  fish  was  cooked 

whole,  and  so  served  on  his  dinner 

table.       When    we    remember    that 

many  a  good  sized  boy  of  ten  does 

not   weigh    eighty    pounds,    we    can 

imagine  that  the   platter  must  have 

been  enormous,  and  that  it  took  more 

than  one  waiter  to  bring  that  fish  in 

from  the  kitchen. 

Such  large  salmon  are  uncommon. 
The  average  chinook  caught  in  the 
Columbia  for  export  weighs  only 
about  twenty-two  pounds,  while  that 
of  the  Sacramento  River  weighs 
less.  All  other  species  of  salmon 
are  smaller,  some,  such  as  the  sock  eye,  weighing  five, 
six,  or  seven  pounds,  according  to  the  season. 

But  let  us  take  a  flying  trip  along  the  Pacific  Coast  and 
see  something  of  this  great  industry.  If  we  would  under- 
stand it,  we  must  know  the  life  history  and  habits  of  this 
king  of  fishes,  for  it  is  upon  them  that  the  industry  is 
founded. 

Suppose  we  start  with  the  baby  salmon  in  one  of  the  icy 
streams,  fed  by  the  snows  of  the  mountains,  which  flow 
into  the  Columbia.  Here  the  salmon  is  born  ;  and  it  spends 
its  babyhood  and  a  part  of  its  childhood  moving  down  with 


. 


Chinook,  the  king  of 
salmon. 


1 66  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

the  waters  to  the  sea,  feeding  as  it  goes.  It  is  quite  small 
when  it  reaches  the  ocean,  but  it  increases  in  size  from 
year  to  year  until  about  four  years  later,  when  it  is  fat  and 
plump  and  ready  to  start  back  up  the  very  same  stream  it 
came  down.  At  this  time  the  salmon  has  solid  flesh,  it  is 
of  a  pale  red  color,  and  it  goes  forth  in  the  pride  of  its 
strength.  It  eats  but  little  after  leaving  the  ocean,  but 
devotes  itself  entirely  to  making  its  way  back  to  its  birth- 
place. If  one  could  have  the  perseverance  and  the 
courage  that  the  fish  shows  on  this  journey,  he  could 
conquer  almost  any  obstacle  that  might  come  in  his  way. 
It  swims  steadily  onward,  making  several  miles  a  day,  often 
spending  months  on  the  way.  It  fights  against  the  current, 
climbs  the  rapids,  jumps  over  the  shallows,  often  bruising 
itself  sadly  upon  the  rocks,  but  going  on  and  on  until  it 
reaches  the  place  where  it  was  born.  A  male  and  a  female 
usually  go  together ;  and  when  they  have  reached  the  right 
spot,  they  dig  a  little  hole  in  the  gravel  of  the  bed  of  the 
stream,  and  the  female  there  lays  her  eggs. 

After  this  the  fish  usually  sicken  and  die ;  they  very 
seldom  get  back  to  the  ocean.  Their  eggs  soon  hatch 
into  minnows,  which  feed  awhile,  just  as  their  parents  did 
when  they  were  little,  and,  as  they  grow  stronger,  start 
down  the  river  on  their  voyage  to  their  ocean  home. 

This  is  the  story  of  one  pair  of  fish,  but  it  is  also  the 
story  of  millions  upon  millions.  The  salmon  come  up 
in  vast  shoals  or  schools,  sometimes  crowding  the  streams 
so  that  they  look  like  solid  fish.  In  Puget  Sound,  at 
certain  times  of  the  year,  the  fish  blanket  the  water  in 
places,  so  that,  with  a  small  boat,  one  can  row  several 
miles  through  fish. 


SALMON 


67 


As  the  salmon  take  the  same  course  year  after  year,  the 
fishermen  know  just  about  when  and  where  to  expect  them. 
In  Puget  Sound  great  cagelike  nets  are  sunk  off  the 
shores  of  the  islands.  The  nets  wind  about  like  the  mazes 
of  Rosamond's  bower ;  and,  as  they  are  set  directly  in  the 
course  of  the  fish  that  are  journeying  to  the  rivers,  the  latter 


Salmon  fishing  with  nets  in  Puget  Sound. 


become  entangled  in  the  nets.  The  salmon  swim  from 
one  enclosure  to  another  until  at  last  they  fall  into  a  great 
trap  walled  with  netting,  which  will  hold  thirty  or  forty 
thousand  salmon  at  one  time.  When  the  trap  is  full,  the 
fish  are  turned  out  into  big  scows  by  lifting  up  one  end 
of  the  net,  or  they  are  ladled  out  with  dip  nets  which  are 
sometimes  worked  by  a  steam  engine.     As  many  as  ninety 


1 68 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


thousand  salmon  have  been  caught  at  once  in  such  a  trap. 
When  the  scows  are  full,  they  are  towed  by  steam  tugs  to 
the  canneries. 

In  the  rivers  salmon  are  caught  with  traps,  nets,  and 
water  wheels.  The  Indians  spear  them  and  also  catch  them 
in  dip  nets,  as  they  jump  up  in  surmounting  the  rapids. 
Gill  nets,  often  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  are  stretched 
across  the  course  near  the  mouth  of  a  river.     The  salmon 


Fish  wheel  in  the  Columbia  River. 


push  their  heads  through  the  meshes,  and  are  caught  by 
the  gills  as  they  attempt  to  pull  out. 

Far  up  the  Columbia  River,  where  the  current  is  swift, 
great  fish  wheels  with  wire  nets  attached  to  their  rims  are 
fastened  to  scows  in  such  away  that  the  salmon,  swimming 
up,  strike  the  nets  ;  and  the  wheel,  turned  by  the  river, 
raises  them  into  the  air  and  pours  them  into  the  boat. 
More  than  thirteen  thousand  salmon  have  been  caught  in 
this  way  by  a  single  wheel  in  one  day  ;  and  all  the  fisherman 


SALMON 


169 


did  was  to  sit  down  and  watch  the  fish  dropping  by  twos 
and  threes  into  his  boat.  Sometimes  so  many  fish  have 
been  taken  by  a  wheel,  that  the  boat  has  become  over- 
loaded and  sunk.  Boats  used  for  this  purpose  hold  five  or 
six  thousand  large  fish. 

Canning   salmon  is  almost  as  interesting   as   catching 
them.    The  work  is  carried  on  by  very  similar  methods  at 


Sock  eye  salmon  ready  for  the  cannery. 


the  great  establishments  at  Astoria,  on  Puget  Sound,  and 
in  Alaska.  The  buildings  are  usually  at  the  water's  edge, 
so  that  the  vessels  may  come  alongside  and  deliver  the  fish, 
or  take  away  the  packed  product.  Most  of  the  factories  are 
large,  roomy,  one-story  frame  structures,  with  lofts  for  stor- 
age and,  in  some  cases,  for  the  manufacture  of  cans.    In  the 


170  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

more  modern  establishments  much  of  the  work  is  done  by 
machinery.  The  salmon  are  pitched  into  conveyors  and 
carried  to  the  killing  room,  which  is  kept  clean  by  flood- 
ing and  scrubbing  it  every  night  with  salt  water.  The  fish 
are  first  placed  upon  long  tables,  about  which  stand  a  score 
or  more  Chinese,  who  cut  off  the  fins,  heads,  and  tails, 
and  throw  the  bodies  upon  an  endless  rubber  belt  which 
carries  them  to  the  cleaning  machines.  Here  the  scales 
are  taken  off,  the  entrails  removed,  and  the  fish  washed  and 
dressed  at  the  rate  of  forty-five  per  minute.  The  fish  is 
held  by  automatic  clamps,  which  press  its  body  against  a 
sharp  knife  that  splits  it  open.  A  series  of  scrapers  and 
brushes,  aided  by  a  stream  of  water,  washes  out  the  in- 
side and  finally  dumps  it  into  a  tank  of  running  water.  It 
next  goes  through  a  series  of  rapidly  moving  circular 
knives  which  cut  it  up  into  pieces  of  just  the  size  used  for 
the  cans.  The  cuts  are  now  carried  to  long  tables,  where 
they  are  packed  by  young  women.  The  filled  cans  are 
cooked  slightly  by  steam  and  then  capped  and  soldered 
and  cooked  again.  During  the  second  cooking  a  little 
hole  is  made  with  a  steel  point  in  each  can  to  let  the  vapor 
and  air  escape.  After  this  the  holes  are  soldered  up  and 
the  cans  run  into  another  steam  chamber,  which  thoroughly 
cooks  the  salmon  and  softens  the  bones.  The  cans  are 
now  ready  to  be  varnished  and  labeled  and  put  up  for 
shipment.  They  are  packed  in  wooden  cases  and  in  this 
shape  find  their  way  to  grocers  all  over  the  world. 

The  Chinese  and  Japanese  who  clean  the  salmon  come 
by  thousands  from  San  Francisco  and  other  cities  for  the 
fish  season,  a  large  number  of  them  being  employed  in 
Alaska. 


OYSTERS  171 


20.    OYSTERS 

"  The  herring  loves  the  open  sea, 
The  mackerel  loves  the  wind  ; 
But  the  oyster  loves  the  quiet  tide, 
For  it  comes  of  a  gentle  kind." 

THIS  verse  of  an  old  song  gives  us  one  of  the  character- 
istics of  a  sea  food  which  has  delighted  man's  palate 
for  ages.  The  Romans,  who  were  noted  for  their  dainty 
viands,  served  oysters  at  their  feasts.  They  caught  them 
in  the  Mediterranean  and  even  imported  them  from  Great 
Britain  after  Caesar  conquered  that  country.  Sallust,  a 
Latin  writer  who  lived  a  little  before  Christ,  wrote  thus  of 
our  English  ancestors:  "  The  poor  Britons  —  there  is 
some  good  in  them  after  all ;  they  produce  an  oyster." 

In  the  Middle  Ages  oysters  were  eaten  in  different 
parts  of  Europe ;  and  since  then  poets  have  often  sung 
their  praises.  Shakespeare  probably  knew  them  well,  for 
he  uses  the  word  "oyster"  several  times  in  his  plays  ;  as,  for 
instance,  in  "  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  where  Pistol, 
upon  Falstaff  s  telling  him  he  will  not  lend  him  a  penny, 
replies  :  — 

"Why,  then,  the  world's  my  oyster, 
Which  I  with  sword  will  open." 

To-day  oysters  are  eaten  in  great  quantities  in  Europe 
and  in  North  America,  Asia,  and  Australia.  The  city  of 
London  alone  consumes  more  than  a  billion  raw  oysters 
every  year.  The  United  States  produces  so  many  that  we 
could  annually  give  one  dozen  to  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  the  whole  world,  and  have  some  to  spare. 


172  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

When  our  forefathers  landed  in  America  they  found 
oysters  in  abundance.  They  were  probably  eaten  ages  ago 
by  the  Indians  ;  for  vast  quantities  of  oyster  shells  have 
been  discovered  in  ancient  Indian  shell  heaps.  Oyster 
fishing  is  now  carried  on  all  along  our  eastern  coast  from 
Florida  to  Massachusetts,  and  also  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
the  Gulf  of  California,  in  San  Francisco  Bay,  and  in  the 
waters  off  Oregon  and  Washington.  Our  most  important 
fisheries  are  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  mainly  upon  natural  beds, 
and  in  Long  Island  Sound,  where  the  oysters  have  been 
planted  by  sowing  their  eggs. 

It  seems  strange  to  think  of  rearing  oysters  like  chick- 
ens, or  of  raising  them  by  planting  the  eggs  as  seed  and 
reaping  the  crop  after  a  certain  number  of  years  ;  but  this 
is  the  custom  in  most  of  the  oyster-producing  parts  of 
Europe  and  of  our  country.  The  French  are  famous 
oyster  farmers.  Upon  one  oyster  bed  of  less  than  five 
hundred  acres  in  France,  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  oysters 
have  been  raised.  There  are  also  some  fine  oyster  farms 
in  England.  Near  the  town  of  Whitestable  not  far  from 
London,  there  are  twenty-seven  square  miles  of  them, 
which  yield  an  annual  product  of  more  than  a  million 
dollars. 

Until  within  a  few  years,  almost  all  our  oysters  came  from 
natural  beds.  Now  the  government  has  planted  the  eggs 
of  the  Chesapeake  oyster  along  the  shores  of  our  Pacific 
States,  as  well  as  in  Chesapeake  Bay  and  at  other  places 
upon  our  Atlantic  Coast ;  and  we  are  growing  many 
oysters  in  this  way.  Indeed,  it  is  estimated,  that  if  all  the 
oyster  beds  of  Chesapeake  Bay  were  properly  planted  and 
cultivated,   they   might  produce  many   times  the  amount 


OYSTERS  173 

they  now  do  and  bring  in  a  product  of  six  hundred  million 
dollars  a  year. 

Our  consumption  of  oysters  is  so  great,  and  their  other 
enemies,  such  as  fish,  sea  worms,  barnacles,  and  little  snale- 
like  creatures  known  as  drills,  are  so  many,  that  it  is  a 
wonder  they  have  not  long  since  disappeared.  The  drill 
has  a  rasping  tongue,  with  which  it  makes  a  tiny  hole  in 
the  shell  and  thus  extracts  the  soft  parts  ;  while  the  oyster- 
boring  sponge  consumes  the  shells,  until  they  are  like  a 
honeycomb  and  may  be  crumbled  to  powder  with  the 
fingers.  Oysters  are  also  eaten  by  the  starfish,  which 
sometimes  sweep  across  the  beds  in  large  schools,  devour- 
ing the  oysters  in  their  path. 

Nevertheless,  even  if  man  did  not  plant  it,  the  oyster 
would  increase  rapidly  enough  to  keep  from  becoming  ex- 
tinct. If  it  had  no  enemies  at  all  and  its  every  Qgg  should 
become  a  full-grown  oyster,  the  shores  of  all  the  oceans 
could  hardly  contain  the  product  at  the  end  of  a  few  hun- 
dred years.  A  single  Chesapeake  Bay  oyster  lays  from 
sixteen  million  to  sixty  million  eggs  in  one  season.  The 
eggs  are  so  small  that  they  cannot  be  seen  with  the  naked 
eye.  They  come  from  the  oyster  in  a  sort  of  a  cloud  or 
milky  spray  which  floats  out  upon  the  water  and  which 
soon  hatches  out  into  tiny  oysters. 

Oysters,  when  first  hatched,  are  not  bigger  than  the  point 
of  the  finest  needle.  They  are  delicate  and  susceptible  to 
cold.  They  move  up  and  down  in  the  water  and  finally 
attach  themselves  to  some  other  body,  such  as  a  stone  or 
shell.  They  grow  gradually ;  at  first  they  look  like  white 
dots,  a  little  later  they  are  as  big  as  a  pin  head,  and  at 
the  age  of  one  year  they  reach  the  size  of  a  silver  twenty- 


174 


FOODS  :   Or  how  the  world  is  fed 


five  cent  piece.  After  that,  if  healthy,  they  should  grow 
about  an  inch  each  year,  until  they  are  three  or  four  years 
old,  when  they  are  of  full  size. 

The  oyster  is  one  of  the  strangest  of  all  animal  crea- 
tions. It  has  a  mouth,  but  no  head.  The  mouth  is 
merely  a  hole  at  the  narrowest  part  of  the  body,  and  it 
contains  neither  tongue  nor  teeth.     It  is  bordered  by  four 

thin  lips,  and  the 
oyster  gets  its  food 
by  filtering  sea  water 
through  these  lips. 
The  food  consists 
entirely  of  minute 
animal  and  vegetable 
organisms  and  small 
particles  of  matter 
found  in  ordinary  sea 
water. 

The     oyster      has 
neither  ears  nor  nose, 
Young  oysters  growing  on  a  stump.  but  scientists   tell    US 

that  it  is  able  to  see  in  some  way  and  that  it  will  close  its 
shell  if  a  shadow  passes  over  the  water.  Its  stomach  con- 
sists of  a  bag  which  lies  just  behind  the  mouth  and  is 
surrounded  by  the  liver.  It  has  lungs  which  are  like  the 
gills  of  fishes,  and  also  a  heart,  as  one  of  the  muscles  is 
sometimes  called,  but  no  brain. 

Its  shell,  or  house,  consists  of  two  valves  fastened  by 
a  hinge  at  one  end,  and  so  arranged  that  they  can  be 
opened  and  shut  at  will.  While  the  oyster  lies  undisturbed 
on  the  bottom  of  its  bed  with  its  shell  open,  the  sea  water 


OYSTERS 


75 


is  drawn  in  and  out,  thus  giving  it  air  and  food.  The  shell 
is  a  tiny  coat  at  first.  It  thickens  from  year  to  year,  so  that 
one  can  tell  how  old  an  oyster  is  by  the  layers  shown  upon 
the  outside  of  the  shell.  Shells  have  been  found  which 
were  nine  inches  thick,  and  some  scientists  claim  that 
oysters  have  lived  one  hundred  years. 

Oysters  are  harvested  during   the   fall  and  winter,   by 
men  who  sail  in  big  boats  over  the  beds.     They  use  rakes 


Oyster  dredging. 


and  dredges,  and  sometimes  oyster  tongs  or  huge  pincers, 

picking  and  scooping  the  shells  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

When  the  boats  are  loaded,  the  catch  is  carried  to  the 

markets  or  to   packing  establishments,  where  the  shells 


176 


FOODS:    OR    HOW  THE  WORCD   IS   FED 


are  shucked  off  and  the  oysters  put  into  tubs  or  cans  for 
export  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  largest  oyster-packing  centers  of  the  United  States 
are  upon  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  from  which  many  millions 
of  oysters  are  shipped  annually.     They  are  sent  in  boats 


Shucking  oysters. 


and  cars  to  our  chief  cities  and  towns.  The  business  of 
preparing  them  for  the  market  employs  many  thousand 
hands. . 

Suppose  we  enter  a  Baltimore  factory  and  see  the  shuck- 
ers  at  work.  The  building  stands  on  the  edge  of  the  har- 
bor. As  we  come  up,  great  boats  filled  with  oysters  in  the 
shell  are  being  unloaded,  and  a  strong  smell  of  the  salt  sea 
fills  the  air.     There  are  men  on  the  wharf  shoveling  oysters 


f  UNIVERSITY  J 

\£^^0^       OYSTERS  177 

into  wheelbarrows  and  carrying  them  into  the  shucking 
shed.  We  follow  and  enter  a  long  low  half-dark  room,  in 
which,  at  high  tables,  which  run  lengthwise  from  one  end  of 
the  room  to  the  other,  stand  several  score  of  men  and  women 
working  away.  Some  are  colored  and  some  white,  and  all 
are  busy.  Each  has  a  sort  of  desk  before  him,  upon  which 
is  a  block  with  a  chisel  blade  fixed  upright  in  it.  He  has 
a  wooden  mallet  in  one  hand  ;  with  the  other  he  picks 
up  an  oyster  and  lays  the  edge  of  its  shell  on  the  blade. 
Now  he  strikes  it  a  quick  blow  with  the  mallet,  cutting  it 
through.  He  next  thrusts  a  broad-bladed  knife  into  the  gap 
and  opens  the  shell.  A  scoop  of  the  knife  then  severs  the 
muscle  which  attaches  the  oyster  to  the  shell  and,  long 
before  its  breath  is  out  of  its  body,  it  finds  itself  cold  and 
naked  in  a  bucket  with  its  brothers  and  sisters  which  have 
been  shucked  just  before. 

When  the  buckets  are  filled,  they  are  carried  into 
another  room.  Here  the  oysters  are  washed  and  put  up 
in  five-gallon  tubs,  with  a  little  ice  spread  on  top,  and  they 
are  then  ready  for  their  railroad  journeys  to  other  parts  of 
the  country. 

Some  oysters  are  packed  up  in  sealed  cans  for  shipment ; 
some  are  sent  away  in  the  shell,  in  barrels ;  and  others  are 
pickled  with  spices,  and  bottled.  In  many  cities  on  or  near 
the  seacoast,  the  oysters  are  delivered  in  the  shell ;  and  each 
dealer  opens  them  for  his  customers. 

Oysters  taste  best  when  fresh  from  the  shell,  and  they 
are  frequently  served  raw,  on  the  half  shell,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  a  dinner.  Indeed,  oysters  are  usually  eaten  raw 
in  all  European  countries.  In  the  United  States  they  are 
also  served  in  soups  and  stews,  broiled,  fried,  roasted,  and 


i  ;8 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


escalloped,  and  in  pies,  curries,  and  turkey  stuffing.  We 
usually  eat  oysters  only  in  the  months  which  contain  the 
letter  "  r,"  beginning  with  September  and  ending  with 
April. 


:>XKc 


21.     LOBSTERS,    SHRIMPS,    CRABS,    AND 
OTHER   SHELLFISH 

THE  Crustacea  are  sea  animals  so  named  for  the  hard 
shell  of  armor  which  completely  covers  their  bodies. 
There  are  more  than  ten  thousand  varieties  of  Crustacea, 
including  lobsters,  crabs,  shrimps,  prawns,  and  other  salt 

and  fresh  water  creatures.  The 
smaller  kinds  drift  in  myriads 
about  the  shores  of  the  oceans 
and  Great  Lakes,  while  some  of 
the  larger  varieties  are  amongst 
the  most  delicious  of  the  sea 
products  eaten  by  man. 

The  lobster,  which  is  the  big- 
gest of  the  Crustacea,  has  a  white 
meat  so  sweet  that  it  always 
brings  high  prices,  and  so  largely 
consumed  that  lobster  fishing  is 
an  important  industry,  our  catch 
often  amounting  to  millions  of  pounds  in  one  year. 

Lobsters  are  found  all  along  the  Atlantic  Coast  of 
our  continent  from  Labrador  to  Delaware  Bay.  The 
greater  part  of  our  catch  comes  from  the  waters  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Maine.  They  are  taken  in  traps  three  or  four 
feet  long,  made  of  lathes  and  stout  cords,  each  of  which 


Lobster. 


LOBSTERS,   SHRIMPS,   AND  OTHER   SHELLFISH         1 79 

will  hold  several  lobsters.  The  animals  feed  upon  fish, 
snails,  and  other  things  found  on  the  bottom  of  the 
sea ;  and  the  traps  are  baited  with  meat  or  dead  fish  and 
set  not  far  from  the  shore,  at  depths  of  from  twenty- 
five  to  two  hundred  feet.  They  are  pulled  up  every  few 
days,  and  the  lobsters  are  taken  out  and  kept  in  floating 
cages  until  enough  have  been  gathered  for  a  shipment  to 
be  made.  We  also  get  lobsters  from  the  Atlantic  Coast  of 
Canada.  Steamers  fitted  with  tanks  containing  salt  water 
run  from  Newfoundland  and  Nova  Scotia  to  Boston  and 
New  York.  At  these  cities  the  lobsters  are  unloaded  to  be 
sold  in  the  markets  or  to  be  transferred  to  similar  tanks 
on  railroad  cars  and  sent  to  our  interior  cities.  By  this 
means  we  are  able  to  have  fresh  lobster  a  thousand  miles 
or  more  away  from  the  sea. 

The  natural  color  of  the  lobster  is  grayish  green,  but 
when  boiled  it  turns  a  brilliant  red,  whence  the  expression 
"  as  red  as  a  boiled  lobster."  The  same  is  true  of  shrimps, 
shellfish  somewhat  like  lobsters  in  miniature.  Shrimps 
are  only  about  two  inches  long  ;  but  they  are  so  numer- 
ous upon  our  South  Atlantic  Coast,  in  San  Francisco 
Bay,  and  elsewhere  that  they  form  an  important  sea 
food. 

The  different  varieties  of  crabs  are  so  strange  that  it 
would  take  a  long  time  to  describe  them  all.  There  are 
fresh  water  crabs  and  crabs  of  the  sea,  crabs  of  different 
colors,  and  crabs  large  and  small.  The  pea  crab,  some- 
times found  in  oysters,  is  not  larger  than  one's  little  finger- 
nail, while  the  giant  crab  of  Japan  is  a  foot  wide  and 
eighteen  inches  long,  and  its  legs  at  the  front  often  meas- 
ure fifteen  feet  from  tip  to  tip.     Another  large  crab  is  the 


i8o 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


Blue  crab. 


stone  crab  of  Tasmania,  which  weighs  twenty-five  or  thirty 
pounds,  or  as  much  as  many  a  three-year-old  child. 

The  chief  crab  used  for  food  in  the  United  States  is  the 
blue  crab,  which    lives  in  the  waters  along  our  Atlantic 

Coast  and  in  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  It  is 
taken  in  wicker  traps 
baited  with  meat,  or 
in  baited  hoop  nets, 
which  are  hauled  up 
rapidly  from  time  to 
time  to  remove  the 
catch. 

Another  method  of 

crab  fishing  is  to  use 

a  line  with  a  piece  of 

raw  beef  tied  to  it.     The  crab  grasps  the  meat  with  its 

claws,  and  it  may  then  be  slowly  drawn    to  the  top  of 

the  water,  where  it  is  caught  with  a  hand  net. 

Crabs  are  always  shipped  alive  to  the  markets.  They 
are  packed  in  wet  seaweed  and  are  taken  out  one  by  one 
when  sold.  A  man  must  be  very  careful  in  handling 
them.  Each  crab  has  two  front  claws  which  open  and 
shut  like  a  pair  of  pincers,  and  when  it  takes  hold  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  make  it  let  go.  I  should  not  advise 
any  boy  or  girl  to  play  with  the  front  claws  of  a  crab. 

Like  all  the  Crustacea,  crabs  shed  their  shells  from  time 
to  time  and  grow  new  ones.  They  are  considered  espe- 
cially delicious  when  caught  just  after  the  old  shell  has  split 
open  and  dropped  off.  The  skin  is  then  as  smooth  as 
satin  and  as  soft  as  the  cheek  of  a  baby.     Even  the  small 


LOBSTERS,  SHRIMPS,  AND  OTHER  SHELLFISH  l8l 

legs  are  tender,  and  the  flesh  is  firm,  white,  and  delicious. 
Every  bit  of  the  creature  can  then  be  eaten,  if  it  is  cooked 
at  once  ;  but,  if  left  in  the  water,  the  skin  soon  becomes 
rough,  and  within  a  short  time  turns  to  a  shell  which  grows 
harder  and  thicker  from  day  to  day. 

Crabs  which  have  just  shed  are  known  as  soft  shells, 
and  those  upon  which  the  shells  have  become  old  and 
tough  are  called  hard  shells.  Both  are  liked  as  food. 
A  not  uncommon  dish  is  deviled  crab,  which  is  made 
by  boiling  the  animal  in  the  shell,  removing  the  meat, 
seasoning  it,  and  replacing  it  in  the  shell  to  be  baked. 

In  addition  to  the  sea  food  we  have  already  considered, 
there  are  many  other  fish  and  shell  animals  that  are  used 


Clams. 

upon  our  tables.  Almost  every  locality  along  our  coasts 
is  famous  for  one  kind  of  sea  food  or  another;  and  our 
lakes,  rivers,  and  streams  swarm  with  fish  of  many  varieties. 
Clams,  which  are  somewhat  like  oysters,  abound  on  the 
shores  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  from  Cape  Cod  to  Florida. 
They  are  gathered  from  the  sand  or  the  mud  in  which  they 
bury  themselves,  and  are  shipped  to  the  markets  in  such 
quantities  that  the  industry  is  of  commercial  importance. 


182 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


22.  SEA  FOOD  OF  OTHER  LANDS 

TO-DAY  we  shall  leave  North  America  and  take  a 
flying  trip  across  the  oceans,  to  learn  about  fishing 
and  sea  food  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  We  shall  start 
with  Japan.  That  country  consists  of  many  hundred  vol- 
canic islands,  some  large  and  some  small.     The  waters  are 


In  a  Japanese  fish  market. 


deep  a  short  distance  from  the  shores,  and  they  swarm 
with  all  kinds  of  fish.  The  Japanese  have  more  than  a 
thousand  varieties  of  sea  food,  and  fishing  is  one  of  their 
principal  industries.  Their  annual  product  of  sea  food 
amounts  to  many  million  dollars.  They  have  more  fisher- 
men in  proportion  to  their  population  than  we  have,  and 


SEA  FOOD  OF  OTHER  LANDS  1 83 

so  many  fishing  vessels  and  boats  that  one  is  seldom  out  of 
sight  of  these  craft  in  Japanese  waters. 

The  Japanese  eat  fish  prepared  in  all  sorts  of  ways. 
They  roast,  stew,  and  fry  them  ;  they  have  baked  fish, 
smoked  fish,  dried  fish,  and  fish  soup.  They  even  eat  some 
kinds  of  fish  raw.  A  favorite  fish  for  this  purpose  is  the  tai 
sliced  thin  and  brought  to  the  table  ice  cold.  It  is  eaten 
with  chopsticks,  each  morsel  being  dipped  in  soy,  a  kind  of 
sauce,  just  before  it  is  put  into  the  mouth. 

During  their  war  with  the  Russians,  the  Japanese  fed 
their  armies  largely  upon  fish,  sending  to  the  field  millions 
of  pounds  of  dried  and  smoked  bonito. 

The  bonito  abounds  off  the  coasts  of  Japan.  It  is  a 
round  fish  which,  when  grown,  weighs  three  or  more 
pounds.  It  is  caught  in  great  nets  and  cured  and  smoked 
after  the  bones  are  removed.  When  thus  prepared,  it  be- 
comes so  dry  and  hard  that  it  will  last  for  an  indefinite 
period.  Insects  will  not  touch  it,  and  it  can  be  carried 
anywhere.  Bonito  is  usually  eaten  with  rice ;  or  it  may  be 
shaved  into  thin  slices  and  cooked  in  a  soup. 

Almost  every  variety  of  fish  we  have  in  the  United  States 
is  found  also  in  Asiatic  waters.  The  Japanese  have  mack- 
erel, halibut,  and  herring,  and  likewise  shellfish,  prawns, 
shrimps,  crabs,  oysters,  and  clams.  They  catch  great  quan- 
tities of  sardines,  and  even  salmon,  although  their  salmon  is 
not  so  good  as  ours.  Some  of  their  best  fishing  grounds  are 
about  the  island  of  Sakhalin,  the  southern  half  of  which 
was  ceded  to  the  Japanese  at  the  close  of  their  war  with 
the  Russians. 

Both  Japanese  and  Chinese  have  water  farms  which 
give  them  a  great  deal  of  food  other  than  fish.     Indeed,  it 


1 84 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


is  said  that  some  portions  of  the  Bay  of  Tokio  produce  so 
many  water  vegetables  that  an  acre  yields  an  annual  profit 
of  several  hundred  dollars.  The  Chinese  farm  their  waters 
in  the  same  way.  The  Japanese  gather  seaweed  and 
dry  it,  cooking  it  with  soup  ;  they  also  use   it   to  make 


Drying  seaweed  in  Japan. 

a  vegetable  isinglass,  which  is  consumed  not  only  in 
Japan,  but  is  exported  to  Europe,  North  America,  and 
even  to  China. 

The  Chinese  are  among  the  great  fish  eaters  of  the 
world.  There  are  so  many  fish  in  southern  China  that 
one  may  have  a  different  kind  for  breakfast  every  morn- 
ing of  the  year,  if  he  will  eat  every  sort  that  the  Chinese 
do.  Not  only  the  sea,  but  also  the  rivers  and  canals,  are 
filled  with  fish ;  and  there  are  fishermen  everywhere.  So 
many  fish  traps  are  built  at  intervals  out  into  the  inland 
water  ways  that  the  boats  sometimes  scrape  them  as 
they  pass  by.     There  are  fishing  platforms  upon  the  river 


SEA  FOOD   OF  OTHER   LANDS 


I85 


banks  ;  and  one  often  sees  a  half-naked  man  raising  or 
lowering  a  great  net  into  the  water. 

The  Chinese  train  otters  to  catch  fish  for  them  ;  and  a 
not  uncommon  sight  in  their  rivers  is  a  long  boat,  on  the 
edges  of  which  a  score  or  more  cormorants  sit,  waiting  for 
their  Chinese  master  in  the  stern  to  order  them  to  dive 
down  into  the  stream  and  bring  up  fish  for  him.  The  cor- 
morant is  a  bird  almost  as  large  as  a  good-sized  duck  and 


Chinaman  with  trained  cormorants. 


not  unlike  it  in  shape.  It  has  a  wide  mouth  and  a  pouch 
on  the  under  part  of  its  neck  in  which  it  can  store  a  num- 
ber of  fish  until  it  is  ready  to  eat  them.  It  can  dive  with 
great  force  and  can  swim  under  water  so  fast  that  few  fish 
can  escape  it.  The  cormorant  usually  catches  a  fish  by  the 
head  and  swallows  it  head  first,  so  that  the  fins,  being 
laid  against  the  sides  of  the  body,  do  not  hurt  the  throat  of 
the  bird. 

Cormorants  are  trained  for  fishing.     They  are  often  raised 


1 86  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

in  captivity,  being  hatched  under  hens.  When  they  are 
about  two  months  old,  the  trainer  takes  them  in  hand  and, 
tying  a  string  to  one  leg,  drives  them  into  the  water.  He 
throws  them  small  live  fishes,  which  they  are  expected  to 
catch,  and  teaches  them  to  go  out  and  come  back  at  the  call 
of  a  whistle.  The  birds  that  do  not  obey  are  whipped 
with  a  piece  of  bamboo. 

When  out  fishing  for  its  master,  the  cormorant  is  fastened 
to  the  rim  of  the  boat  by  a  string  tied  to  one  leg.  At  a 
given  signal  it  slides  down  into  the  water  and  dives  for 
fish,  coming  up  with  them  in  its  mouth  or  pouch.  Its  mas- 
ter then  makes  it  disgorge.  It  is  prevented  from  swallow- 
ing the  fish  by  a  strap  or  ring  which  is  fastened  about  the 
throat  below  the  pouch.  When  a  bird  grows  tired,  the 
fisherman  removes  the  strap  and  rewards  it  with  a  share  of 
the  fish  it  has  caught. 

The  fish  markets  of  China  are  interesting.  Fish  are 
usually  sold  alive,  being  kept  in  tanks  or  tubs  of  running 
water  while  awaiting  purchasers.  However  some  fish  are 
sold  dried  and  pickled,  smoked,  or  cured  in  other  ways.  The 
Chinese  eat  water  plants  and  delight  in  some  varieties  of  sea 
food  which  are  unknown  to  our  markets.  One  of  their 
favorite  dainties,  for  instance,  is  the  fins  of  the  shark,  cut 
off  and  dried  in  the  sun.  They  boil  such  fins  with  wood 
ashes  and  then  scrape  and  wash  them  until  perfectly  clean  ; 
after  this  they  stew  the  fins  and  use  them  in  soups  or  with 
crab  meat  and  ham. 

Another  costly  sea  food  much  prized  by  these  people 
is  biche  de  mer  or  trepang,  a  great  sea  worm,  or  slug,  found 
along  the  Great  Barrier  Reef  off  eastern  Australia  and  the 
islands  about.     Bicke  de  mery  as  they  lie  in  the  water,  look 


SEA  FOOD  OF  OTHER   LANDS 


187 


much  like  large  cucumbers,  and  they  are  sometimes  called 
"the  cucumbers  of  the  sea."  They  are  from  one  to  four 
feet  in  length  and  from  two  to  four  inches  thick.  They 
live  on  the  microscopic  shellfish  which  are  found  in  great 
quantities  upon  coral  rocks.  About  the  mouth  of  each  slug 
are  hundreds  of  little  feelers  with  which  it  brushes  the 
rocks  and  thus  draws 
the  food  into  its  throat. 
These  queer  creatures  are 
picked  up  at  low  tide  by 
the  fishermen,  or  are  ob- 
tained by  diving  for  them. 
They  are  cut  open  and 
cleaned,  and  then  boiled 
and  laid  in  the  sun  to  dry. 
They  are  now  smoked  for 
twenty-four  hours,  when 
they  are  ready  to  be 
packed  up  and  shipped 
off  to  China. 

The  waters  about  our 
Pacific  islands  swarm  with 
sea  animals ;  and  Porto 
Rico,  like  most  of  the 
West   Indies,   has  excel-  Filipino  casting  his  neu 

lent  sea  food.  The  natives  of  the  Philippines  live  largely 
upon  fish,  and  they  have  a  great  variety  of  nets  and  traps 
for  catching  them.  In  sailing  along  the  coasts  or  upon 
the  rivers  and  lakes  of  that  far-away  colony,  one  fre- 
quently sees  the  Filipino  fisherman  casting  his  net;  and  one 
often  passes  winding  cages  of  bamboo  cane  stuck  down  in 


1 88  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

the  sand  in  such  a  way  that  the  fish  can  swim  in,  but 
cannot  find  their  way  out.  Off  the  shores  of  some  of 
the  islands  are  large  fish  corrals,  fenced  in  with  bamboo 
canes  woven  together  with  rattans.  These  corrals  are 
so  hidden  at  high  tide  that  the  fishes  swim  in,  but, 
when  the  tide  falls,  they  find  themselves  caught,  and  the 
fishermen  scoop  them  out  with  dip  nets,  killing  the  larger 
ones  with  their  spears.  Everywhere  along  the  coast  and 
streams  the  natives  have  small  fish  traps,  and,  sometimes, 
bamboo  cages  somewhat  similar  to  ours  for  trapping 
lobsters. 

How  would  you  like  to  walk  out  into  the  fields  near 
home,  and  be  able  to  catch  fish  in  almost  every  mud 
puddle  ?  This  is  possible  in  parts  of  our  Philippine 
Islands.  The  lowlands  of  some  sections  are  so  underlaid 
with  water  that  on  breaking  through  a  thin  crust  of  earth, 
a  slimy  mud  is  reached,  in  which  several  different  species 
of  mudfish  are  found.  Some  are  quite  small  and  others  a 
foot  or  more  long ;  but  they  are  so  plentiful  that  after  a 
heavy  rain  the  ditches  and  small  streams  are  almost  filled 
with  them.  The  Filipinos  go  out  after  the  rains  to  fish  in 
the  rice  fields ;  and  during  the  wet  season  one  may  often 
see  men  and  women  wading  about  in  the  mud,  with  fishing 
traps  of  bamboo,  in  the  shape  of  barrels  open  at  both  ends. 
The  fishermen  push  these  traps  through  the  muddy  water 
into  the  beds  of  the  irrigating  canals,  and  then  feel  down 
and  around  to  learn  what  they  have  caught. 

Fish  of  many  kinds  are  sold  alive  in  the  markets  of 
Manila,  being  kept  in  bamboo  baskets  so  tightly  woven 
that  they  will  hold  water.  Upon  making  a  sale,  the 
peddler  takes  the  squirming  fish  out  of  his  basket,  lays  it 


SEA   FOOD   OF  OTHER  LANDS  1 89 

upon  a  stone,  and  kills  it  by  striking  it  just  back  of  the 
neck  with  a  club. 

Going  northward  to  Siberia,  we  find  valuable  fishing 
grounds  all  along  its  eastern  coast.  The  Russians  annu- 
ally catch  several  hundred  million  pounds  of  fish,  trepang, 
and  crabs  in  their  Asiatic  waters  ;  and  the  natives  of  north- 
ern and  northeastern  Siberia  feed  not  only  themselves, 
but  their  sled  dogs  on  fish.  The  Eskimos  of  our  continent 
also  feed  their  sled  dogs  on  fish,  and  they  catch  walrus 
and  other  sea  animals  for  this  purpose. 

The  Russians  have  rich  fisheries  in  their  European  rivers 
and  seas.  There  are  many  fishing  boats  on  the  Volga, 
Don,  Neva,  and  Dnieper  rivers,  and  also  on  the  Sea  of 
Azov,  the  Black  Sea,  and  especially  on  the  Caspian  Sea. 

An  important  industry  about  the  Caspian  Sea  is  catch- 
ing sturgeon  for  their  eggs,  which  are  salted,  cured,  and 
sold  as  caviar,  an  appetizing  dainty,  often  eaten  upon  toast 
at  the  beginning  of  a  meal.  Caviar  looks  much  like  bird 
shot  sprinkled  with  water.  It  has  a  bitter,  salty  taste  ;  and 
I  doubt  whether  you  would  like  it  at  first.  It  is  put  up  in 
kegs  or  cans  and  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world. 
It  is  now  made  in  the  United  States,  from  sturgeon  caught 
in  our  waters,  but  by  no  means  in  such  quantities  as  in 
Russia,  which  might  be  called  the  chief  caviar  country  of 
the  world. 

The  fisheries  of  the  Baltic  are  extensive,  as  are  also 
those  of  the  North  Sea.  From  these  places  comes  most 
of  the  sea  food  of  London,  which  has  perhaps  the  largest 
wholesale  fish  market  in  the  world.  This  is  Billingsgate, 
situated  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  not  far  from  London 
Bridge.     Steam  vessels  scurry  about  the  North  Sea  and 


190 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD    IS   FED 


gather  the  fish  from  the  places  where  they  are  caught  and 
bring  them  to  the  mouth  of  the  Thames  River.  Here 
larger  and  faster  boats  are  waiting  to  carry  them  to  Lon- 
don.    In  addition,  vast  quantities  of  fish  are  brought  in 

by  railway  and  steamer 
from  Ireland  and  Scot- 
land, so  that  altogether 
many  thousand  tons  are 
marketed  daily. 

The  fish  are  of  al- 
most every  variety,  from 
whitebait,  one  of  which 
is  as  big  as  a  baby's 
finger,  to  great  sturgeon, 
which  sometimes  weigh 
as  much  as  a  full-grown 
man.  There  are  her- 
ring, sole,  salmon,  and 
haddock,  as  well  as 
eels,  prawns,  shrimps, 
and  smelts. 

The  fish  are  sold  at 
auction ;  and  there  are 
thousands  of  peddlers  and  retail  dealers  who  push  this  way 
and  that  as  they  bid.  There  are  vehicles  with  boisterous 
drivers  and  also  porters  and  wheelbarrow  men.  Indeed, 
the  early  morning  sales  at  Billingsgate  bring  together  one 
of  the  noisiest  crowds  of  the  world.  The  place  has  long 
been  so  notorious  for  its  confusion  and  coarse  language, 
that  "talking  Billingsgate"  is  a  common  expression  for 
using  slang  or  scolding  in  a  vulgar  manner. 


A  Scotch  fishwife. 


TURTLES,   FROGS,   SNAILS,   AND    LIZARDS 


191 


23.    TURTLES,    FROGS,    SNAILS,    AND 
LIZARDS 

FROGS,  turtles,  snails,  and  lizards  !  Do  people  eat  such 
things  as  these  ?  Yes,  indeed ;  in  many  parts  of  the 
world  they  are  classed  among  the  choicest  dainties.  Turtle 
soup  is  delicious,  and  the  diamond-backed  terrapin  is  a 
famous  American  deli- 
cacy. In  our  own  cities 
frogs  sell  so  largely  that 
they  are  caught  by  the 
thousands  ;  and  snails  so 
delight  the  Parisians  that 
small  farms  are  devoted 
to    rearing    them.      The  Iguana  lizard. 

great  iguana  lizard,  which    abounds  on    the    Isthmus  of 
Panama,  has  flesh  which  tastes  like  young  chicken  ;  and 

the  armadillo,  another 
strange  little  animal,  is 
prized  in  different  parts 
of  South  America. 

The  turtle  is  a  shell- 
incased  reptile  with  four 
little  legs  ending  in  feet 
with  sharp  claws,  a  short 
tail,  and  an  odd  snakelike 
head  attached  to  a  long 
flexible  neck.  Most  tur- 
tles can  draw  their  heads,  legs,  and  tails  within  the  shell, 
so  that  they  are  protected  by  it  as  though  covered  with 


Armadillo. 


192  FOODS  :    OR  HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 

armor.  Some  turtles  have  sharp  teeth,  and,  when  they  take 
hold,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  them  let  go  without 
chopping  off  their  heads. 

Turtles  lay  eggs,  digging  holes  for  the  purpose  in  the 
sand  or  mud.  After  the  eggs  are  deposited,  the  turtle 
smoothes  the  earth  over,  the  eggs  are  hatched  by  the 
warm  sun,  and  the  little  turtles  pop  out.  Turtles  lay  their 
eggs  in  the  same  places  year  after  year,  and  they  are 
frequently  caught  by  men  who  know  their  breeding 
grounds  and  who  capture  them  while  they  are  making 
their  nests. 

Turtles  are  of  many  varieties.  One  found  in  some  of 
the  warmer  parts  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  is  so 
big  that,  when  full-grown,  it  would  make  a  cart  load  for  a 
horse ;  and  it  has  such  powerful  jaws  that  it  can  take  off 
a  man's  finger  at  a  bite.  In  catching  such  a  turtle,  the 
hunters  are  careful  to  keep  away  from  its  mouth.  They 
rush  up  to  it  and  turn  it  over  on  its  back,  as  it  lies  on  the 
sand.  It  is  then  helpless,  and  can  be  dragged  to  the  ship, 
which  is  to  carry  it  to  London  or  to  some  other  market  for 
sale.  Enormous  turtles  which  are  said  to  roar  and  bellow 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  are  found  upon  the  Gala- 
pagos Islands,  off  the  Pacific  Coast  of  South  America. 
Other  turtles  utter  a  shrill  piping  note,  especially  in  the 
spring.  They  are  probably  of  the  variety  thus  referred  to 
in  Solomon's  Song  :  — 

"  For  lo  the  winter  is  past, 
The  rain  is  over  and  gone ; 
The  flowers  appear  on  the  earth  ; 
The  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come 
And  the  voice  of  the  turtle  is  heard  in  our  land." 


TURTLES,   FROGS,   SNAILS,  AND   LIZARDS  1 93 

On  the  banks  of  the  Amazon  there  are  turtles  which  lay- 
so  many  eggs  that  the  natives  make  an  oil  of  them  for 
cooking  and  lighting.  The  people  know  the  laying  sea-, 
sons,  and  they  then  go  out  in  crowds  to  the  breeding 
grounds.  They  dig  up  the  nests  with  spades  and  put  the 
eggs  in  great  piles,  until  all  have  been  collected.  Then 
each  little  party  takes  its  heap  of  eggs  to  an  empty  canoe 
and  mashes  them  into  a  filthy-looking  mush.  The  eggs 
are  as  big  as  hens'  eggs,  or  a  little  larger,  and  they  have 
leathery  shells  which  can  be  easily  broken  with  sticks  or 
with  the  feet.  Sometimes  the  Indian  boys  and  girls  take  off 
their  clothes  and  jump  up  and  down,  treading  the  eggs,  and 
smearing  themselves  with  the  yolks  as  they  do  so. 

After  the  stuff  is  thoroughly  mixed,  water  is  poured  into 
it  and  the  sun  allowed  to  beat  down  upon  it.  In  a  short 
while  an  oil  rises  to  the  top  and  can  be  skimmed  off.  It 
is  afterward  refined  by  cooking  in  copper  kettles  over  the 
fire ;  and  then  it  is  stored  for  use  as  needed.  It  is  said 
that  about  six  thousand  eggs  are  needed  to  make  one  jar 
of  oil ;  and  the  eggs  annually  destroyed  for  this  purpose 
amount  to  many  millions.  Indeed,  Henry  W.  Bates,  from 
whose  travels  on  the  Amazon  we  get  this  information, 
says  the  destruction  of  the  eggs  for  this  purpose  is  so 
great  that  the  Amazon  turtle  may  in  time  disappear,  espe- 
cially as  the  natives  also  collect  the  newly  hatched  young 
for  eating. 

The  favorite  turtle  of  the  United  States,  and,  indeed, 

one  which  has  become  noted  for  the  delicacy  of  its  flesh, 

is  the  diamond-backed  terrapin,  found  in  the  salt  marshes 

along  our  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coasts  from  New  York  to 

Texas  and  especially  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay.     This  turtle 
foods — 13 


194  FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 

is  a  pygmy  in  comparison  with  the  great  ocean  turtles.  It 
is  usually  from  five  to  seven  inches  long,  and  it  seldom 
grows  to  be  more  than  ten  inches  long.  When  first 
hatched,  it  is  about  a  half  inch  in  diameter,  and  it  grows 
at  the  rate  of  an  inch  a  year  for  four  or  five  years,  and 
after  that  more  slowly. 

The  diamond-backed  terrapin  feeds  largely  upon  shell- 
fish and  small  reptiles,  varying  its  animal  food  with  the 
tender  shoots  and  roots  of  such  plants  as  grow  in  the 
marshes.  It  spends  most  of  the  summer  in  the  swamps. 
At  the  beginning  of  winter  it  buries  itself  in  the  mud  at 
the  bottom  of  some  pool  or  stream  and  remains  there  until 
spring. 

The  terrapin  is  so  delicious  that  it  always  brings  high 
prices  in  our  city  markets.  A  single  fat  turtle  of  this 
variety  will  sell  for  several  dollars ;  and  there  are  many 
terrapin  fishers  who  go  about  our  coasts,  wading  through 
the  swamps  and  poking  down  into  them  with  rods  to  find 
where  the  terrapin  nest.  They  also  turn  up  the  mud  with 
spades  and  sometimes  use  dredges  to  drag  the  dia- 
mond-backs forth  from  their  haunts.  Terrapin  are  also 
trapped  by  very  similar  methods  to  those  used  for  trap- 
ping lobsters,  the  traps  being  baited  with  fish.  On  some 
of  our  southern  coasts  they  are  hunted  with  dogs,  the  dogs 
trailing  the  turtles  to  their  nests  in  the  grass  or  bush  and 
barking  to  show  where  they  lie. 

Terrapin  farms  have  been  established  for  the  purpose 
of  determining  whether  the  animals  cannot  be  profitably 
raised.  Our  government  has  fenced  in  experimental  ponds 
in  Maryland  and  in  North  Carolina  and  stocked  them 
with  thousands  of  diamond-backs,  the  eggs  of  which  are 


TURTLES,   FROGS,   SNAILS,   AND    LIZARDS  1 95 

used  to  supply  the  marshes  from  which  terrapin  have  dis- 
appeared. 

Have  you  ever  eaten  the  fat  hind  legs  of  a  frog,  fried  to 
a  turn  ?  They  taste  like  young  chicken  and  are  so  much 
sought  after  that  in  the  United  States  alone  we  kill  mil- 
lions of  frogs  every  year.  It  is  said  that  we  eat  more  frog 
legs  than  any  other  people,  even  the  French.  Frog  catch- 
ing has  become  a  business  in  some  localities  in  Minnesota, 
California,  Missouri,  New  York,  Arkansas,  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, Ohio,  and  Indiana.  The  best  places  for  catching 
them  are  along  the  marshes  of  our  lakes  and  rivers. 

Frogs  are  caught  with  lines  baited  with  worms,  insects, 
or  pieces  of  red  cloth ;  they  are  speared ;  and  they  are 
also  shot  with  guns  and  crossbows.  The  best  time  to 
hunt  frogs  is  at  night. 
The  sportsman  uses  a 
lantern,  the  light  of  which 
enables  him  to  take  aim 
and,  at  the  same  time, 
blinds  the  eyes  of  the 
frog. 

Sometimes  the  frogs 
are  sold  alive,  but  they 
are  usually  dressed  before  Bullfrog. 

they  are  carried  to  the  markets.  In  Paris  I  have  seen 
skewers  filled  with  frog  legs,  which  were  selling  for  a  few 
cents  a  dozen.  In  our  country  the  legs  are  usually  sold 
by  the  pound,  and  the  live  frogs  at  so  much  apiece. 

In  the  United  States  the  chief  frogs  eaten  are  bullfrogs, 
green  frogs,  and  spring  frogs.  These  varieties  are  much 
the  same,  although  there  is  a  difference  in  size,  the  bull- 


196 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 


frog,  which  often  has  a  body  eight  inches  long,  being  the 
largest. 

We  have  all  heard  of  snails,  the  little  round  shell  ani- 
mals which  move  so  slowly,  although  we  may  not  like 
Shakespeare's  comparison  of  them  with  ourselves,  when 
he  says  :  — 

"  The  whining  schoolboy,  with  his  satchel 
And  shining  morning  face,  creeping  like  a  snail, 
Unwillingly  to  school." 

The  ordinary  American  boy  does  not  whine,  and  he 
usually  goes  on  the  run  after  he  has  his  first  pair  of  trou- 
sers and  top-boots. 
He  is  not  like  a  snail, 
and  it  is  pretty  cer- 
tain that  he  does  not 
eat  snails.  It  is  dif- 
ferent, however,  with 
the  boys  of  southern 
Europe  and  especi- 
ally with  those  of 
France.  They  con- 
sider snails  a  delicacy 
and  eat  them  in  large 
Snails  in  a  French  market.  quantities.    Snails  are 

sold  in  all  the  French  markets.  I  have  seen  bushels  of 
them  in  Paris  and  have  watched  the  market  women  dishing 
them  out  to  their  customers  at  so  much  per  dozen  or  per 
hundred.  They  are  slimy  and  disgusting  looking  creatures, 
as  they  crawl  about  over  one  another  on  the  market  tables. 
The  edible  snail  comes  chiefly  from  the  vineyards  of  Swit- 
zerland and  southern  France.     It  is  fed  in  gardens  made 


VEGETABLES  I 97 

for  the  purpose,  and  the  fatter  it  is,  the  higher  the  price  it 
brings.  The  best  snail  food  is  cabbage  and  clover,  and  it  is 
said  that  a  wagon  load  of  cabbages  forms  a  single  meal  for 
one  hundred  thousand  snails.  In  some  places  the  snail 
farmers  keep  their  stock  in  the  house  during  the  winter, 
and  they  know  just  how  to  handle  the  eggs  and  the  baby 
snails  and  how  to  fatten  the  full  grown  snails  for  the 
market.  The  most  of  the  product  of  these  farms  goes  to 
the  French  cities,  although  several  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  snails  are  annually  sent  to  the  United  States. 


>**< 


24.  VEGETABLES 

ACCORDING  to  investigations  made  by  our  Govern- 
ment Department  of  Agriculture,  vegetables  form 
more  than  one  fourth  of  the  daily  food  of  the  ordinary 
American  family.  They  are  eaten  everywhere  in  large 
quantities,  and  there  are  few  people  so  saVage  that  they 
do  not  raise  some  kinds  of  them. 

The  varieties  of  the  plant  world  thus  used  are  so  many 
that  we  cannot  mention  them  all.  Some  plants  are 
valuable  for  their  roots,  as  turnips,  carrots,  and  beets ; 
some  for  their  bulbs,  as  onions  and  garlic  ;  some  for  their 
tubers,  as  potatoes;  others  for  their  stems,  as  asparagus 
and  celery ;  others  for  their  leaves,  as  cabbages,  lettuce, 
and  spinach  ;  others  for  their  seeds,  as  peas  and  beans ; 
and  others  for  their  fruits,  green  and  ripe,  as  cucumbers, 
squashes,  tomatoes,  and  melons. 

Some  vegetables  will  grow  well  only  in  certain  localities 


198 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


and  in  certain  climates,  and  some  are  found  almost  every- 
where. In  the  United  States  the  principal  varieties  thrive, 
during  one  season  or  other,  all  over  our  country  ;  and  out- 
side the  cities  almost  every  family  grows  its  own  vegetables. 
We  have  also  many  thousand  farms  and  gardens  where 
vegetables  are  raised  for  the  markets,  the  product  being 


A  truck  farm. 


so  great  that  it  sells  for  several  hundred  million  dollars 
every  year.  The  best  soil  close  to  our  large  cities  is  used 
for  gardening  ;  and  along  our  southern  Atlantic  Coast  vast 
quantities  of  vegetables  are  raised  during  the  winter, 
spring,  and  early  summer,  for  shipment  to  our  northern 
cities,  where  the  weather  is  so  cold  that  vegetables  can- 
not be  produced  at  such  times.  This  business  is  called 
trucking  or  truck  farming. 


VEGETABLES 


199 


One  of  the  chief  trucking  centers  of  the  United  States 
is  the  lower  shore  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  whence  vege- 
tables are  sent  upon  fast  steamers  to  our  chief  northern 
Atlantic  ports  and  also  to  Richmond,  Baltimore,  and  Wash- 
ington. During  the  height  of  the  season  several  great 
ships  loaded  with  garden  truck  steam  daily  from  Norfolk 
for  New  York  and  Boston ;  and  vegetables  are  also  carried 
in  refrigerator  cars  to  the  larger  cities  of  the  interior. 

A  little  farther  south,  in  North  Carolina,  is  another  truck- 
ing region,  the  chief  port  of  which  is  Wilmington  ;  and  still 


Shipping  watermelons. 


farther  down  the  coast,  .quantities  of  garden  stuff  are  shipped 
from  the  ports  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida. 
Among  the  chief  products  of  eastern  Georgia  is  the  water- 
melon, which  is  sent  northward,  beginning  in  early  July,  and 
which  reaches  nearly  every  large  market  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River.     About  one  half  of  all  the  watermelons  used 


200 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


in  the  United  States  come  from  eastern  Georgia,  although 
Norfolk  sometimes  ships  as  many  as  six  hundred  thou- 
sand in  one  year. 

Trucking  is  usually  done  upon  small  farms.  A  large 
amount  of  vegetables  can  be  raised  upon  an  acre  ;  but  the 
crop  requires  careful  cultivation  and  almost  constant  atten- 
tion.    The  plants  must  be  weeded  and  hoed  and  the  insects 


Picking  tomatoes  on  a  southern  truck  farm. 


and  worms  destroyed,  so  that  one  man  cannot  take  charge 
of  a  large  tract.  The  ordinary  truck  farm  usually  contains 
only  ten  or  fifteen  acres ;  and  we  have  in  our  country 
something  like  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  market 
gardens  of  the  average  size  of  one  acre  each.  From  many 
of  these  gardens  the  products  are  taken  direct  to  the  cities 
near  by,  and  sometimes  the  gardener  hauls  the  vegetables 
into  town  in  his  own  wagon  and  peddles  them  out. 


VEGETABLES  201 

A  great  deal  of  trucking  is  done  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
where  it  is  carried  on  by  Chinese  and  Italians.  The 
Chinese  are  skillful  cultivators.  They  economize  every 
inch  of  ground  and  do  not  spare  water,  fertilizer,  or  trouble, 
in  growing  their  crops. 

Not  many  years  ago  canned  vegetables  were  almost  un- 
known. They  were  costly  and  were  used  chiefly  upon 
shipboard  or  in  remote  places  where  other  food  was  not 
obtainable.  To-day  they  are  sold  in  all  our  grocery  stores, 
as  well  as  at  the  mines,  lumber  camps,  and  other  out-of- 
the-way  places.  We  now  have  more  than  two  thousand 
establishments  devoted  to  canning ;  and  about  four  fifths 
of  them  are  engaged  in  putting  up  fruits  and  vegetables. 
The  business  employs  a  capital  of  over  fifty  million  dollars, 
and  at  certain  times  of  the  year  the  labor  of  something  like 
one  hundred  thousand  men,  women,  and  children. 

The  vegetables  most  canned  are  corn  and  tomatoes,  our 
product  of  these  two  articles  alone  amounting  to  some- 
thing like  thirty  million  pounds  every  year.  Peas  are 
preserved  in  a  green  state,  and  likewise  asparagus,  lima 
beans,  string  beans,  succotash,  beets,  cabbages,  pumpkins, 
and  squashes.  Indeed,  it  is  now  possible  to  buy  almost  any 
kind  of  vegetable  in  cans. 

Until  a  short  while  ago,  the  only  way  of  keeping  fruit 
and  other  such  things  was  by  drying,  or  putting  them  away 
in  salt  or  sugar.  It  was  in  1795  that  Nicholas  Appert,  a 
Frenchman,  submitted  to  his  government  a  plan  for  preserv- 
ing food  by  heating  it  in  glass  jars  set  in  boiling  water, 
and  sealing  the  jars  while  hot.  This  plan  worked  so  well 
that  the  emperor,  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  paid  Appert  twelve 
thousand  francs   for   his   invention.     The  discovery  was 


202  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

introduced  into  England,  and  in  time  a  canning  business 
grew  up  in  that  country.  Shortly  afterward  other  in- 
ventions were  made  along  the  same  line;  and  about  1815 
Ezra  Daggett  brought  to  the  United  States  a  process  for 
canning  salmon,  lobsters,  and  oysters,  which  was  extended 
to  the  preservation  of  pickles,  jellies,  and  sauces,  and  thus 
formed  the  basis  of  quite  an  industry. 

When  men  began  to  put  up  vegetables,  tin  cans  were 
found  to  be  cheaper  and  more  easily  shipped  than  glass 
jars ;  and,  as  the  business  grew,  many  machines  were  in- 
vented to  prepare  the  vegetables  for  cooking  and  to  aid  in 
canning  them.  We  now  have  hulling  machines  which  will 
take  green  peas  out  of  the  pods  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand 
bushels  per  day ;  and  separators  which  will  grade  the  peas  ; 
sieves  for  sorting  and  pea  blanchers  for  scalding  them. 
There  are  corncutters  which  take  the  grains  from  the 
cobs  of  four  thousand  ears  in  one  hour;  and  corn  silk- 
ing machines  which  remove  the  silk  at  an  equal  speed. 
There  are  also  machines  for  preparing  tomatoes,  pump- 
kins, and  squashes,  and  many  kinds  of  graters,  corers,  and 
seeders. 

In  canning  vegetables  and  fruits,  galvanized  wire  bas- 
kets are  now  used  to  lower  the  articles  into  the  scalding 
kettles;  and  there  is  an  automatic  machine  which  will 
fill  twelve  thousand  cans  in  a  day.  Some  vegetables 
are  cooked  in  the  cans.  A  great  number  of  cans  with 
soldered  tops  are  placed  on  a  tray,  and  all  are  lowered 
into  a  cooking  boiler  at  one  time,  a  little  hole  being  left  in 
the  top  of  each  can  to  permit  the  air  and  steam  to  escape. 
When  the  cooking  is  finished,  the  tray  is  raised,  and  a  drop 
of  solder,  placed  upon  the  hole,  seals  each  can  tight. 


POTATOES  203 


25.    POTATOES 

POTATOES  form  such  an  important  part  of  our  daily 
food  that  it  is  hard  to  imagine  living  without  them. 
Nevertheless,  the  Egyptians,  Greeks,  and  Romans  of  the 
olden  time  never  heard  of  them,  and  although  Shakespeare 
in  his  "Merry  Wives  of  Windsor"  makes  Falstaff  say 
"  Let  the  sky  rain  potatoes,"  it  was  long  after  his  time 
that  they  became  a  common  food  of  civilized  man. 

Potatoes  existed  nowhere  but  upon  this  hemisphere  until 
some  years  after  Columbus  discovered  the  New  World. 
The  Spaniards  found  the  Indians  eating  these  vegetables 
in  the  valleys  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  Andes,  and  the 
potatoes  which  they  carried  home  with  them  were  the 
first  ones  seen  in  Europe.  They  were  shown  to  Queen 
Isabella,  and  were  first  grown  as  curiosities  in  flower  gar- 
dens. Later,  some  were  taken  to  Virginia  by  the  Span- 
iards, and  from  Virginia  to  Ireland  by  Sir  John  Hawkins. 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh  is  said  to  have  carried  the  first  speci- 
mens from  Ireland  to  England  and  showed  them  to  Queen 
Elizabeth,  advocating  their  use  as  food. 

It  was  many  years,  however,  before  the  people  of  Europe 
began  to  appreciate  this  vegetable.  They  used  it  first  for 
their  cattle  and  hogs  and  then  for  the  poor  in  times  of 
famine.  It  was  chiefly  as  a  famine  food  that  the  potato  was 
first  cultivated  in  Ireland ;  but  the  better  classes  soon  dis- 
covered its  value,  and  it  then  became  one  of  the  chief 
crops  of  that  country  and  also  spread  to  many  parts  of 
Europe.  The  early  use  of  the  potato  by  the  Irish  gave  it 
the   name  of   the    "  Irish   potato,"   in  contrast   with   the 


204  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

sweet  potato,  which  is  also  a  native  of  our  hemisphere. 
We  shall  treat  of  the  sweet  potato  further  on,  using  the 
general  term  M  potato  "  for  the  Irish  potato  only. 

To-day  potatoes  are  used  in  every  country  of  Europe,  and 
more  are  raised  there  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
The  chief  of  all  potato  lands  is  Germany,  which  yields 
about  one  fourth  of  the  world's  crop.     The  sandy  plains 


Plowing  a  potato  field. 

sloping  up  from  the  Baltic  are  especially  adapted  to  these 
vegetables,  and  they  produce  many  million  tons  of  them 
every  year.  Other  European  countries  which  raise  pota- 
toes in  large  quantities  are  Russia,  Spain,  Portugal,  Aus- 
tria-Hungary, and  France.  In  the  United  States  the 
potato  crop  ranks  next  to  our  cereal  crop.  We  raise 
several  hundred  million  bushels  annually,  and  there  are 
few  farmers  who  have  not  their  potato  patches. 


POTATOES  205 

Our  chief  potato  states  are  New  York,  Wisconsin, 
Michigan,  and  Pennsylvania,  although  we  have  many 
others  which  raise  this  crop  in  large  quantities.  Some 
of  the  best  of  our  potatoes  are  produced  in  California 
and  Utah  and  upon  other  parts  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
plateau. 

Have  you  ever  considered  what  an  odd  vegetable  the 
potato  is?  It  is  a  tuber  which  grows  under  the  ground 
on  the  roots  of  a  plant,  instead  of  upon  its  vines  or 
branches.  The  French  call  it  potnme  de  terrey  which 
means  "  apple  of  the  earth,"  and  the  Germans  also  know 
it  as  the  earth  apple  or  der  Erdapfel.  It  is  not  unlike 
the  apple  in  size  ;  and  contains  an  enormous  amount  of 
water,  as  does  the  apple,  but,  in  addition,  it  has  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  starch  and  of  other  elements,  which 
make  it  much  more  valuable  for  food. 

Potatoes  are  grown  by  planting  old  potatoes  or  pieces  of 
them.  Upon  each  potato  are  numerous  little  dimples, 
called  eyes,  from  which,  when  planted,  the  vines  grow  up 
and  the  roots  grow  down.  After  a  while  little  potatoes 
form  on  the  roots.  They  grow  to  the  size  of  peas,  then  of 
marbles,  and  some  varieties  finally  become  so  large  that  one 
potato  weighs  several  pounds.  At  the  same  time  the  vines 
have  grown  above  ground  until  they  have  reached  a  height 
of  two  or  three  feet.  Their  color  is  a  rich  dark  green,  and 
they  have  beautiful  little  flowers  and  now  and  then  round 
pods  containing  seeds.  When  the  vines  begin  to  die,  the 
potatoes  are  ripe,  and  they  may  then  be  dug  or  plowed  up 
and  stored  away  or  sent  to  the  market. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  potatoes,  some  early  and 
some   late,  some   large   and   some   small.     Some   have  a 


206 


FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 


better  flavor  than  others,  and  some  will  produce  far  more 
to  the  acre.  It  has  been  found  that  when  one  plants  the 
seeds  in  the  little  potato  pods,  new  varieties  may  come 
from  them  ;  and  that  when  these  potatoes  themselves  are 
planted,  they  produce  their  own  kind.  The  famous  Early 
Rose  potato  came  from  the  seeds  of  some  South  American 


''"         »                         X. 

P^l^iTpjl* 

f\l:h 

IvSCPT'^BS-'^u  -_->.,^s*. 

1 

Harvesting  potatoes. 


wild  potatoes,  which  had  been  carried  to  Vermont  and 
planted;  and  the  Burbank  potato  was  discovered  by  a 
schoolboy  named  Luther  Burbank,  who  planted  some 
seeds  from  the  vine  of  an  Early  Rose.  Young  Burbank 
had  heard  how  the  Early  Rose  potato  originated.  He 
was  interested  in  plant  growing  and  when,  upon  going  to 
school  one  morning,  he  saw  a  green  seed  pod  in  an  Early 


POTATOES  207 

Rose  potato  patch  by  the  roadside,  he  decided  to  gather 
it  when  ripe  and  to  save  the  seeds  to  plant  the  next  year. 
He  looked  further,  but  this  pod  was  the  only  one  he 
could  find.  The  Early  Rose  differs  from  many  other 
varieties  of  potatoes  in  that  it  does  not  often  have  seeds  ; 
therefore  young  Burbank  was  especially  anxious  about  this 
pod.  He  watched  it  carefully  from  day  to  day,  and  the  very 
morning  when  he  thought  it  would  be  ready  for  picking, 
he  was  dismayed  to  find  it  had  disappeared.  He  looked 
for  it  a  long  time  and  finally  got  down  on  his  knees  and 
went  carefully  over  the  bed.  After  some  hours  he  found 
the  pod.  It  lay  hidden  away  under  another  vine  about 
sixteen  feet  distant,  where  it  had  been  blown  by  the  wind, 
or  thrown  by  some  one  running  rapidly  through  the  field. 
He  saved  it  and  planted  the  seeds  the  following  year; 
and  the  result  was  the  Burbank  potato,  which  is  now 
famous  throughout  the  world. 

I  have  visited  some  of  the  high  valleys  of  the  Andes 
Mountains,  which  are  said  to  be  the  home  of  the  potato, 
and  have  watched  the  Indians  selling  potatoes  in  the  Peru- 
vian and  Bolivian  cities.  Many  kinds  are  sold  in  La  Paz, 
where  the  market  women  peddle  them  out  at  so  much 
per  pile  of  a  dozen  or  so.  The  chief  varieties  there  are 
by  no  means  so  large  as  those  of  the  United  States,  some 
kinds  being  little  larger  than  marbles. 

During  the  winter  we  keep  potatoes  in  cellars  or  in 
other  warm  places.  The  Bolivian  Indians  accomplish  the 
same  object  by  freezing  and  drying  them.  They  soak  the 
potatoes  in  water  and  let  them  freeze  night  after  night 
until  they  are  soft.  The  skins  are  then  rubbed  off  by 
treading   them  with  the  bare  feet,  and  the  potatoes  are 


208  FOODS :    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

dried  in  the  open  air.  After  so  drying,  they  become  as 
hard  as  stones,  and  they  have  to  be  soaked  three  or  four 
days  before  they  are  cooked.  They  are  now  called  c/iuno, 
and  will  keep  a  long  time. 

Irish  potatoes  are  used  for  making  starch,  glucose,  and 
other  things.  The  Germans  make  alcohol  of  them  and 
feed  them  largely  to  their  cattle  and  hogs. 

Next  to  the  Irish  potato,  the  vegetable  most  extensively 
grown  in  the  United  States  is  the  sweet  potato.  It  is 
annually  raised  by  more  than  one  million  farmers,  and  the 
crop  sometimes  sells  for  over  twenty  million  dollars.  It  is 
cultivated  most  largely  in  our  Southern  States,  and  also  to 
a  considerable  extent  in  New  Jersey,  Illinois,  and  Mis- 
souri. The  crop  grows  best  in  a  warm,  sandy  soil,  where 
several  hundred  bushels  are  frequently  gathered  from  one 
acre. 

26.  IMPORTANT  VEGETABLES  USED  FOR 
FOOD 

IF  our  vegetables  could  speak  and  tell  us  about  them- 
selves, we  might  learn  that  each  has  its  history,  and 
that  many  have  long  held  an  important  place  in  furnishing 
food  for  mankind.  Even  the  humble  bean  might  show  us 
that  it  requires  some  education  to  know  him.  He  could 
tell  how  his  kind  originated  in  western  Asia,  and  how  he 
has  for  ages  been  used  as  food  throughout  the  world.  He 
might  say  that  there  are  one  hundred  and  fifty  varieties  of 
him  now  cultivated  in  the  United  States ;  and  refer  to  the 
string   bean,  which  we   eat   green,  the   lima  bean,  whose 


IMPORTANT  VEGETABLES   USED   FOR   FOOD  209 

native  home  is  South  America,  the  bone  bean,  which  came 
from  Scotland,  and  the  soy  bean,  used  in  China  and  in 
Japan  for  making  a  sauce  and  also  for  the  delicious  bean 
candy  which  all  Japanese  boys  and  girls  like.  He  would 
surely  mention  dwarf  beans,  field  beans,  bush  beans,  and 
pole  beans ;  and,  if  he  were  properly  asked,  he  might  tell 
us  just  what  kind  of  a  bean  it  was  up  whose  mighty  stalk 
Jack  the  Giant  Killer  climbed. 

The  bean  would  certainly  say  something  of  himself  as 
food  for  cattle  and  hogs ;  and  he  would  not  omit  to  tell 
how  the  famous  baked  beans  of  Boston  are  cooked  and  ex- 
ported everywhere  in  cans.  Indeed,  he  might  even  go 
back  into  history  and  describe  the  elections  of  ancient 
Greece,  when  beans  were  used  by  the  voters  as  ballots,  each 
man  dropping  one  into  a  helmet  to  indicate  his  choice ;  or, 
he  might  tell  about  the  feast  of  the  Bean  King,  which  was 
long  held  on  Twelfth  Night  in  France,  Germany,  and  Eng- 
land. At  this  feast  a  bean  was  hidden  in  a  large  cake, 
and  when  it  was  cut,  the  child  who  got  the  slice  contain- 
ing it  was  made  king  over  the  rest  of  the  guests  for  that 
evening. 

The  pea  would  also  have  his  story,  showing  how  he  first 
grew  wild  in  southern  Europe  and  in  Asia,  and  was  a  com- 
mon food  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans.  He  might 
say  that  he  formed  a  principal  food  of  the  working  classes 
in  England  before  the  potato  was  brought  over  from  Amer- 
ica; and  tell  how  he  is  now  eaten,  both  green  and  ripe, 
throughout  the  civilized  world. 

As  to  the  cabbage,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  dullest 
of  all  the  vegetables,  his  head  is  full  of  strange  information. 
The  Romans  and  Greeks  had  a  tradition  that  he  sprang 

FOODS —  14 


210  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD    IS   FED 

from  the  sweat  of  Jupiter,  some  drops  of  which  fell  upon 
earth.  We  know  that  cabbages  have  long  been  cultivated, 
that  our  common  cabbage  was  first  brought  into  England 
by  the  Romans,  and  that  it  is  now  grown  everywhere  in 
the  United  States.  There  are  all  together  more  than  an 
hundred  different  varieties  of  cabbages  ;  some  are  red,  and 
some  white,  some  are  small  and  some  are  large,  a  single 
head  weighing  thirty  pounds,  and,  with  the  leaves,  being 
big  enough  to  fill  a  wheelbarrow. 

The  lettuce,  another  leaf  vegetable,  comes  from  the 
East  Indies ;  but  it  has  been  used  in  salads  in  Europe  as 
far  back  as  any  one  can  remember.  We  raise  a  great  deal 
of  it  in  Michigan  and  New  Jersey.  It  is  grown  largely  in 
the  south  during  the  winter,  and  is  shipped  northward  in 
barrels  and  crates.  Cabbages  and  spinach  are  exported 
in  the  same  way. 

But  how  about  the  plants  whose  roots  and  bulbs  are  so 
largely  eaten  ?  I  refer  to  beets,  carrots,  onions,  and  tur- 
nips. Each  of  them  belongs  to  the  oldest  of  the  vegetable 
kind,  and  has  long  been  a  part  of  the  food  of  man.  We 
have  all  heard  of  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt.  Herodotus, 
a  Greek  historian,  sometimes  called  the  Father  of  History, 
who  wrote  about  them  ages  ago,  says  that  the  writings 
carved  upon  them  showed  how  much  garlic  and  how  many 
radishes  and  onions  were  eaten  by  the  workmen  during 
their  building,  and  that  the  cost  of  these  vegetables  alone 
amounted  to  sixteen  hundred  talents  of  silver,  or  a  great 
deal  more  than  one  million  dollars. 

We  know  that  man  has  been  eating  onions  and  garlic 
from  that  time  to  this.  The  Spaniards  and  Italians  are 
especially  fond  of  them,  and  the  onion  peddler  is  a  common 


IMPORTANT  VEGETABLES  USED  FOR  FOOD 


211 


sight  in  the  cities  of  southern  Europe.  He  puts  up  his 
onions  in  strings  by  braiding  together  the  tops  and  goes 
about  with  them  thrown 
over  his  shoulder. 

As  to  carrots  and  tur- 
nips, they  are  a  choice 
food  for  cattle  as  well  as 
for  man;  and  beets  are 
eaten  by  both  man  and 
beast.  Indeed,  some  of 
us  eat  beets  every  day  in 
a  way  we  little  imagine. 
We  spread  them  upon 
bread  and  butter  in  the 
form  of  beet  sugar ;  and 
we  are  often  consuming 
beets  when  we  eat  candy. 
We  shall  learn  more  about  this  later  on,  when  we  look 
into  the  beet  sugar  product  of  the  world. 

The  story  of  asparagus,  the  vegetable  which  comes  first 
upon  our  tables  in  the  early  spring,  is  interesting.  It  was 
used  in  old  Rome,  and  the  Roman  soldiers  carried  the 
knowledge  of  it  to  the  Gauls  and  Britons.  It  grew  wild 
in  Holland,  France,  Germany,  Hungary,  and  England,  and 
soon  it  began  to  be  cultivated  in  the  gardens.  It  was 
brought  to  our  country  by  our  Pilgrim  Fathers  and  is  now 
grown  everywhere.  All  along  our  Atlantic  Coast,  from 
Charleston  to  Boston,  and  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  in  parts 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  asparagus  is  raised  for  shipment 
to  the  markets,  great  quantities  being  produced  on  Long 
Island  and  in  New  Jersey. 


A  Spanish  onion  peddler. 


212 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


Asparagus  is  one  of  the  lily-of-the-valley  family  of  plants, 
and  it  might  be  called  a  second  cousin  to  the  smilax,  whose 
vines  are  used  for  floral  decorations.  It  is  grown  from 
the  seed  ;  but  a  bed  once  started  will  produce  for  years, 
new  vines  and  sprouts  coming  up  every  season.  The 
shoots  only  are  eaten  ;  they  are  round   fat  green  or  white 


Preparing  celery  for  the  markets. 


stems  which  sprout  out  of  the  center  of  the  plant  and 
are  cut  when  soft  and  tender.  They  are  tied  up  in  bunches 
of  ten  or  more  to  be  shipped  to  the  markets. 

Celery  is  a  native  of  Europe,  but  it  is  now  cultivated 
widely  in  our  country,  especially  in  Michigan,  Ohio, 
and  New  York,  and  also,  for  winter  use,  in  Florida  and 
California.     So  much  celery  is  grown  about  Kalamazoo, 


IMPORTANT  VEGETABLES   USED   FOR   FOOD  213 

Michigan,  that  it  is  sometimes  called  "  the  celery  city." 
The  celery  is  raised  there  on  the  rich  lowlands  about  the 
town,  and  several  crops  are  produced  in  one  year.  The 
seed  for  the  first  crop  is  sown  in  hotbeds  before  the  snow 
has  disappeared,  and  the  plants  are  set  out  five  or  six 
weeks  later,  being  banked  up  from  time  to  time  to  keep  the 
sun  off  the  stalks  and  thus  preserve  the  white  color. 

Some  of  the  celery  land  is  so  low  and  wet  that  wooden 
plates  about  as  big  as  a  large  geography  book  are  fastened 
to  the  shoes  of  the  horses  to  keep  them  from  sinking  in, 
while  plowing  the  rows.  The  horse  soon  learns  to  shift 
his  feet  sideways,  so  that  he  does  not  step  on  his  wooden 
shoes.  Similar  shoes  are  used  on  plow  mules,  on  some  of 
our  truck  farms  in  the  lower  part  of  Florida. 

But  it  would  take  a  long  time  to  discuss  all  the  food 
plants,  grown  in  our  gardens.  If  you  would  know  more 
about  spinach,  cucumbers,  squashes,  pumpkins,  and  a  host 
of  such  things,  you  must  ask  each  plant  for  its  story.  We 
can  now  take  a  glance  at  only  the  tomato  and  the  melon. 
The  tomato  is  such  an  important  food  product  that  it  is 
canned  in  greater  quantities  than  any  other  vegetable. 
It  is  now  grown  in  almost  every  garden,  but  civilized  man 
knew  nothing  about  it  until  the  New  World  was  dis- 
covered ;  and  long  after  that  it  was  cultivated  only  for  the 
beauty  of  its  rich  green  foliage  and  its  fruit,  which  was 
thought  to  be  poisonous.     It  was  called  the  love  apple. 

The  muskmelon  came  from  the  warmer  regions  of  Asia, 
and  it  is  now  grown  in  all  parts  of  the  world  where  it  is 
not  too  cold.  The  cantaloupe,  one  of  the  smallest  varieties 
of  this  vegetable,  is  especially  delicious.  The  water- 
melon is  a  native  of  tropical  Africa,  but  it  is  now  eaten 


214 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


Packing  cantaloupes. 

almost  everywhere.  We  have  two  hundred  thousand  acres 
devoted  to  it  in  the  United  States,  and  in  the  early  summer 
it  is  shipped  from  our  Southern  States  to  all  parts  of  the 
north. 


>XKc 


27.  IN  THE  GARDENS  OF  OTHER  LANDS 

LEAVING  the  United  States,  we  shall  now  take  a  flying 
trip  to  learn  something  about  the  vegetables  of  other 
parts  of  the  world.  Europe  has  extensive  gardens.  Its 
chief  cities  are  surrounded  by  them,  and  the  best  soil  of  the 
thickly  populated  regions  is  used  for  growing  vegetables. 
In  the  winter  many  varieties  of  garden  stuff  are  produced 


IN  THE  GARDENS   OF  OTHER   LANDS  21 5 

in  glass  houses  and  hotbeds ;  and  the  warm  countries  of 
the  south  supply  the  people  farther  north  with  their  winter 
food  of  this  kind.  Fast  trains  are  always  shooting  from 
one  end  of  Europe  to  the  other,  carrying  vegetables  and 
fruits ;  and  many  vegetables  raised  under  the  hot  winter 
sun  of  Algeria  are  sent  on  steamers  across  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  France,  and  thence  by  rail  to  Paris  and  other 
cities.  On  the  southern  side  of  the  English  Channel  are 
large  gardens  and  truck  farms  whose  market  is  London  ; 
so  that  commerce  and  transportation  have  a  great  business 
in  bringing  the  vegetables  from  the  places  where  they  are 
raised  to  the  people  who,  for  reasons  of  climate,  soil,  or 
business,  cannot  produce  them  themselves. 

This  is  so  not  only  in  Europe  and  in  our  own  country,  but 
in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Steamers  and  railroad  trains  are 
always  moving  up  and  down  the  earth,  transporting  food 
products  that  can  be  grown  to  better  advantage  in  one- 
section  than  in  another.  China  sends  vegetables  and  fruits 
to  Japan,  and  Japan  sends  foods  back  in  return.  I  once 
traveled  from  Swatow,  in  southern  China,  to  Bangkok,  via 
Hong  Kong,  on  a  steamer  loaded  with  cabbages  and  pota- 
toes for  the  Siamese  ;  and,  in  going  down  the  east  coast  of 
Australia,  our  vessel  took  on  tropical  fruits  and  early  vege- 
tables at  the  northern  Queensland  ports,  which  are  nearer 
the  Equator,  to  sell  in  Sydney,  Melbourne,  and  Adelaide, 
the  colder  cities  of  the  south.  In  sailing  up  the  Parana 
River  from  Buenos  Ayres  northward  to  Asuncion  in  Para- 
guay, we  carried  vegetables  ;  and  returning,  our  ship  was 
filled  with  oranges  and  tropical  fruits.  One  who  goes  in 
the  early  spring  from  Havana,  or  other  parts  of  the  West 
Indies,  to  New  York,  may  see  ripe  tomatoes,  early  potatoes, 


2l6  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

eggplants,  and  other  fresh  vegetables  placed  upon  board 
for  our  markets. 

Down  the  west  coast  of  South  America  extends  a  narrow 
strip  of  desert,  about  two  thousand  miles  long.  It  has  rich 
mines  here  and  there  ;  and  near  the  coast  of  northern 
Chile  are  nitrate  fields  which  supply  fertilizing  salts,  so 
good  for  raising  vegetables  that  the  gardeners  of  our 
country  and  Europe  pay  high  prices  for  them.  For  that 
reason,  they  are  exported  by  the  ship  load.  A  great  indus- 
try has  been  established  in  digging  the  nitrate  rock  from 
the  desert,  and  cities  and  towns  have  grown  up  there. 
Nevertheless,  the  climate  is  such  that  no  vegetables  or  fruits 
can  be  raised  there.  No  grass  and  green  trees  are  to  be 
found  anywhere,  and  the  people  must  depend  entirely  for 
their  garden  stuff,  fruits,  and  other  food,  upon  the  lands 
which  lie  far  to  the  north  or  south  of  them.  So,  although 
the  nitrate  region  yields  the  very  best  of  stuff  to  raise  vege- 
tables, it  is  entirely  dependent  on  other  lands  for  its  vege- 
tables. Commerce,  however,  enables  it  to  sell  its  nitrate 
rock  to  the  market  gardeners  across  the  oceans  for  enough 
to  supply  it  with  all  the  food  it  needs,  and  a  large  sum  in 
addition. 

The  miners  of  the  desert  likewise  exchange  their  gold, 
copper,  and  silver  for  food,  in  another  way ;  and  so  do  the 
workers  in  factories,  in  cities,  or  in  the  bleak  and  out-of- 
the-way  places  of  the  earth.  Indeed,  every  populated  part 
of  the  globe  has,  or  is  able  to  make,  some  things  much 
desired  by  man,  that  other  lands  have  not ;  and  hence,  the 
whole  world  is  joined  together  by  human  wants  and  the 
money  paid  to  supply  them. 

There  are,  however,  some  foods  which  grow  in  certain 


IN  THE  GARDENS  OF  OTHER  LANDS 


217 


parts  of  the  earth  which  are  almost  unknown  and  unused 
in  other  parts.  We  have  seen  how  Indian  corn,  potatoes, 
and  tomatoes  were  strangers  to  our  race  until  Columbus 
discovered  the  New  World.  Millions  of  people  are  to-day 
feeding  upon  things  that  seldom  come  upon  our  tables  and 
of  which  we  know  little.  One  of  these  foods  is  manioc, 
the  roots  of  which,  in  South 
America,  the  West  Indies,  and  in 
parts  of  Asia  and  Africa,  largely 
take  the  place  of  both  potatoes 
and  wheat.  The  South  Americans 
eat  them  roasted,  boiled,  and  baked, 
as  we  eat  potatoes,  and  also  grind 
them  into  flour,  from  which  bread 
and  cakes  are  made.  In  the  Congo 
Valley  the  manioc  root  is  mashed 
to  a  pulp,  and  after  being  washed 
is  allowed  to  ferment.  It  is  then 
mixed  into  a  stiff  dough  and  cooked 
up  like  dumplings,  to  be  eaten  at 
home  or  sold  in  the  market.  We 
use  manioc  ourselves  in  the  shape 
of  arrowroot  and  tapioca,  and  we 
grow  it  to  some  extent  in  Florida  and  on  a  narrow  strip 
of  land  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  from  that  state  to  Texas. 
Manioc,  or  cassava,  belongs  to  the  same  family  as  the 
milkweed.  It  is  not  raised  from  the  seed,  but  from  the 
canes  or  stalks  of  the  previous  season,  which  are  kept  and 
planted  in  much  the  same  way  that  sugar  cane  is.  Both 
root  and  cane  sprout  out  from  the  joints,  the  cane  growing 
to  a  height  of  four  or  five  feet,  and  the  roots  extending 


A  load  of  manioc. 


218 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 


out  on  all  sides  in  a  cluster  which  sometimes  weighs  many 
pounds.  A  single  root  is  often  as  big  around  as  one's 
wrist  and  as  long  as  one's  arm.  The  roots  are  the  val- 
uable parts  of  the  plant.  They  are  full  of  starch  and 
other  food  matter,  and  in  some  varieties  they  contain  also 


In  a  tapioca  factory  at  Singapore. 


a  bitter  acid,  which  is  poisonous.  This  is  removed  by 
washing  or  cooking,  after  which  they  form  an  excellent 
food. 

In  making  tapioca  the  bitter  roots  are  washed  and  then 
cut  and  ground  up  and  mashed  to  a  pulp.  They  are  next 
strained  in  such  a  way  that  all  the  starchy  particles  are 
taken  out  of  the  fibers.  The  starch  is  then  allowed  to 
settle  and  harden,  when  it  is  broken  fine  and  packed  for 


IN  THE  GARDENS  OF  OTHER  LANDS 


219 


shipment  abroad.  There  are  tapioca  factories  in  the  West 
Indies,  at  Singapore,  and  in  other  parts  of  ^alaysia,  and 
also  at  different  places  in  South  America.  We  use  tapioca 
in  puddings  and  soups.  It  may  be  found  for  sale  in 
almost  any  grocery  store.  In  some  parts  of  the  world 
manioc  roots  are  fed  to  cattle  and  hogs. 

Our  cousins  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  have  a  vegetable 
which  furnishes  such  a  large  part  of  their  food  that  they 
could  not  afford  to  lose 
it.  This  is  the  taro 
plant,  which  grows  al- 
most everywhere  in  the 
warm  islands  of  the 
South  Seas.  It  has  no 
stem  ;  but  its  heart- 
shaped  leaves  are  so 
large  that  one  would 
almost  do  for  an  um- 
brella. The  leaves  and 
stalks  are  sometimes 
eaten   like  spinach    and  Taro  plant* 

asparagus ;  but  the  chief  food  value  lies  in  the  long  tuber- 
ous root,  which  is  full  of  starchy  material. 

Taro  is  grown  in  gardens,  or  in  patches  out  in  the  fields, 
by  planting  cuttings  from  the  tops  of  the  roots.  When 
ripe,  the  roots  are  dug  up,  washed,  and  then  roasted  or 
baked.  They  are  next  put  into  wooden  trays  and  pounded 
up  with  water  into  a  thick  dough,  which  is  allowed  to  fer- 
ment. This  dough  is  called  poi,  and  it  may  be  eaten  as  it 
is,  or  cooked  again  in  a  variety  of  ways.  In  the  Himalaya 
Mountains  and  also  in  Japan  and  Porto  Rico,  somewhat 


220 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


similar  roots  are  used  in  the  same  way  that  we  use  pota- 
toes. 

The  bamboo,  from  one  variety  of  which  we  make  fish- 
ing poles,  takes  the  place  of  asparagus  in  tropical  coun- 
tries. It  grows  in  clumps  of  tall  cane,  which  are  often 
large  around  at  the  base  and  as  high  as  a  three,  four,  or 
five-story  house.  This  plant  sends 
out  shoots,  so  tender  that  they  can 
be  eaten  boiled  or  stewed,  or  can  be 
pickled  with  vinegar  and  other  sauces. 
Bamboo  shoots  are  esteemed  deli- 
cious by  the  Japanese,  Chinese,  and 
also  by  our  cousins  of  the  Philippine 
Islands.  The  Chinese  consider  one 
species  of  this  plant  an  emblem  of  a 
child's  obedience  to  its  parents,  which 
they  regard  as  the  greatest  of  all 
virtues.  They  have  a  legend  about 
a  Chinese  boy  who  so  loved  his 
mother  that,  during  one  winter,  when 
she  was  sick  and  longed  for  a  soup 
made  of  bamboo  shoots,  he  went  out 
to  the  garden  and  watered  the  bamboo 
plants  with  his  tears.  As  the  story 
goes,  his  tears  were  so  hot  with  his 
affection,  and  so  copious,  that  they  softened  the  frozen 
soil  and  caused  the  tender  shoots  to  burst  forth.  I  will 
not  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this  story,  but  it  may  be  found 
in  Chinese  books  ;  and  it  is  said  that  the  Japanese  have 
named  a  bamboo  after  the  Chinese  boy  who  so  loved  his 
sick  mother.  ' 


Bamboo  grove. 


ODD   FOODS  FROM  TREES  AND   VINES 


221 


28.    ODD    FOODS    FROM    TREES   AND 
VINES 

THERE  are  many  other  foods  from  trees  and  vines. 
The  crowns  of  many  palm  trees  from  which  the  long 
leaves  sprout  out  are  cooked  as  we  cook  cabbage,  and 
eaten ;  and  there  are  several  palms  the  sap  of  which  is 
used  to  make  wine  and 
sugar.  The  sap  of  the 
nipa  palm  of  our  Philip- 
pine Islands  is  made  into 
palm  wine  and  palm  beer; 
and  there  are  palms 
known  as  wine  palms 
and  cabbage  palms.  The 
carnauba  palm  of  Brazil 
has  not  only  an  edible 
crown,  but  its  leaves  are 
coated  with  a  vegetable 
wax  from  which  candles 
are  made  ;  and  the  nuts 
of  the  betel  palm  are  chewed  like  tobacco  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  the  neighboring  countries.  The  doum  palm 
of  Upper  Egypt  is  often  called  the  gingerbread  tree,  be- 
cause its  fruit  is  brown  and  mealy,  tasting  somewhat  like 
gingerbread ;  and  the  sago  palm  has  a  pith  which  is  made 
into  meal  or  flour  and  sent  all  over  the  world,  to  be  used 
for  making  starch  and  confectionery,  and  in  puddings  and 
the  thickening  of  soups.  We  can  find  some  of  this  pith  in 
almost  any  of  our  grocery  stores. 


The  gingerbread  tree. 


222 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 


The  sago  palm  is  the  most  important  of  all  the  food 
palms,  with  the  exception  of  the  cocoanut  palm.  It  is 
grown  for  commercial  purposes  in  southeastern  Asia,  espe- 
cially in  Singapore,  Sumatra,  and  the  neighboring  islands. 
It  is  not  as  tall  as  many  other  palms;  but  it  is  so  thick 
that  a  full-grown  man  could  hardly  reach  around  it. 

The  trunk  of  this  tree  consists  of  a  hard  wall,  inside  of 
which  is  a  spongy  pith,  so  full  of  starch  and  other  nutri- 


Making  sago. 


tious  matter  that  it  gives  a  great  quantity  of  excellent  food. 
It  is  said  that  three  large  sago  palms  will  yield  more 
food  than  one  acre  of  wheat,  and  several  times  as  much  as 
an  acre  of  potatoes. 

There  is  just  one  time  in  the  life  of  this  palm  when  it  is 
fit  for  eating.  This  is  when  it  is  about  seven  years  old, 
just  before  it  begins  to  bear   fruit.     After  that,  the  pith 


ODD   FOODS   FROM  TREES  AND   VINES  223 

gradually  disappears,  and  when  the  tree  is  full-grown  the 
trunk  becomes  a  hollow  shell. 

In  making  sago  the  palms  are  cut  down  near  the  roots, 
and  the  trunks  are  divided  into  logs  six  or  seven  feet  long. 
These  are  split,  and  the  pith  is  taken  out  and  ground  to  a 
powder  somewhat  like  sawdust.  The  dust  is  next  mixed 
with  water  and  then  run  through  a  series  of  sieves,  to  get 
out  the  coarse  fiber.  During  this  process  the  starchy  and 
food  materials  go  into  the  water,  which  is  drawn  off  into 
other  vessels.  As  it  stands,  the  sago  falls  to  the  bottom 
in  a  flour  or  meal  and  later  is  dried  and  roasted  in  such 
a  way  that  it  forms  the  pearl  sago  of  commerce.  Sago 
meal  is  eaten  by  the  natives  as  a  mush,  and  is  also  baked 
in  small  biscuits,  in  which  shape  it  will  keep  a  long  time. 
The  island  of  Singapore  is  one  of  the  chief  places  where 
pearl  sago  is  made. 

Have  you  ever  thought  how  the  peanut  gets  its  name  ? 
It  is  really  a  ground  pea  with  the  taste  of  a  nut.  It  has 
a  pod  somewhat  like  a  pea,  but  the  pods  or  shells  grow  on 
the  stem  of  the  plant  under  the  ground.  It  seems  strange 
to  speak  of  the  peanut  as  a  vegetable ;  but  if  we  should 
go  to  the  southern  part  of  Virginia,  we  might  see  great 
fields  of  them  being  cultivated  by  very  similar  methods  to 
those  used  in  cultivating  potatoes  or  corn.  Peanuts  are 
raised  there  for  export,  and  millions  of  bushels  are  shipped 
away  every  year. 

The  peanut  grows  in  many  tropical  and  subtropical 
countries.  It  is  thought  to  be  a  native  of  Brazil,  but  it  is 
now  grown  in  all  the  warm  regions  of  the  globe.  Great 
quantities  are  raised  in  Africa,  Europe,  and  in  Virginia, 
North   Carolina,  Georgia,  and   Tennessee.     We  use  pea- 


224 


FOODS  :    OR    HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


nuts  chiefly  for  eating  at  odd  times,  rather  than  as  a  staple 
article  of  diet.  They  are  on  sale  in  our  stores,  and  men 
and  boys  peddle  them  about  at  fairs,  shows,  and  at  the 
fruit  stands  in  our  various  cities.  We  eat  them  in  candies 
and  in  peanut  butter  ;  and  we  also  feed  them  to  hogs  and  to 
cattle.     In  Europe  peanuts  are  imported  from  Africa  and 


Peanut  pickers  in  North  Carolina. 


elsewhere  for  making  an  oil,  much  like  salad  oil ;  and 
amongst  some  African  tribes  they  are  an  important  food. 
In  planting  the  nuts  are  first  shelled  and  then  dropped 
in  hills  or  drilled  in  rows.  They  soon  sprout  and  grow 
vines  which  cover  the  ground  and  look  somewhat  like 
clover.  They  are  carefully  plowed  and  hoed  to  keep 
down  the  weeds.  When  the  vines  are  about  eight  inches 
long,  they  begin  to  blossom  and  are  soon  covered  with 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  OUR   FRUIT   INDUSTRY  225 

small  yellow  flowers.  As  each  flower  fades  away,  a  sharp 
pointed  stem  shoots  out,  turns  downward,  and  buries  itself 
in  the  ground.  On  the  end  of  the  stem  a  pod  forms,  con- 
taining the  peanuts,  which  continue  to  grow  until  they  are 
ripe. 

The  planting  is  done  in  the  spring,  and  the  nuts  are 
ready  to  harvest  in  the  fall.  The  vines,  with  the  peanuts 
attached  to  their  underground  stems,  are  dug  up  and  put 
in  little  stacks  about  poles  to  dry.  They  remain  in  the 
stacks  several  weeks,  after  which  the  nuts  are  picked  off 
and  sacked  up  for  the  markets.  A  thrifty  peanut  vine 
should  yield  about  one  hundred  nuts,  and  an  acre  forty 
bushels. 

After  the  peanuts  are  picked  from  the  vines,  they  are 
still  covered  with  dirt  and  must  be  cleaned  before  they 
can  be  sold.  The  cleaning  is  done  in  fanning  mills,  much 
like  those  used  by  farmers  for  cleaning  grain.  After  this 
process  the  nuts  are  sorted  by  women  and  girls,  who  pick 
out  the  bad  ones,  as  the  peanuts  are  carried  by  them  on  a 
moving  belt  a  yard  wide. 

29.    GENERAL   VIEW    OF   OUR   FRUIT 
INDUSTRY 

NOT  many  years  ago  fruit  was  much  less  important  as 
an  article  of  commerce  than  it  is  now.  Only  a  few 
fresh  fruits,  such  as  apples,  lemons,  and  oranges,  could  then 
be  kept  for  a  long  time  or  be  sent  to  any  great  distance 
from  the  places  where  they  were  grown ;  and  only  a  few  dried 

fruits,  such  as  dates,  raisins,  and  prunes,  could  be  exported. 
foods  —  1 5 


226  FOODS  :    OR  HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 

Modem  invention  has  since  supplied  quick  transportation 
on  land  and  sea  and  also  cold  storage  arrangements,  by 
which  fruits  can  be  preserved  fresh  during  their  transit 
from  one  part  of  the  world  to  another.  America,  Aus- 
tralia, and  South  Africa  now  ship  apples,  pears,  and  plums 
to  Europe ;  and  Europe  sends  back  dried  figs,  raisins,  and 
seedless  grapes  in  return.  California  exports  oranges, 
lemons,  peaches,  and  pears  to  New  York,  Chicago,  and 
other  cities ;  and  Washington  and  Oregon  give  our  Eastern 
States  some  of  their  most  delicious  apples.  Florida  sends 
subtropical  fruits  to  the  north,  and  Georgia  gives  us 
peaches  long  before  they  are  ripe  in  the  Northern  States. 

Later  in  the  year,  after  the  fruit  season  in  some  localities 
is  over,  the  southern  people  import  fruit  which  has  ripened 
more  slowly  in  the  cold  north  lands.  Indeed,  commerce 
now  supplies  us  with  fresh  apples,  lemons,  bananas,  and 
oranges  throughout  the  year;  and  pears,  strawberries, 
grapes,  and  peaches,  which  a  half  century  or  more  ago 
could  be  had  for  but  a  few  weeks,  are  now  brought  from 
so  many  different  climates  that  they  are  in  our  markets 
for  many  months. 

'  Inventions  for  preserving  fruits  have  also  been  made. 
They  are  so  dried  and  canned  that  they  can  be  kept 
a  long  time  and  shipped  all  over  the  world.  Fruits,  fresh 
and  preserved,  now  form  a  large  part  of  the  diet  of  civil- 
ized man. 

When  our  continent  was  discovered,  the  Indians  had 
only  a  few  species  of  wild  grapes,  plums,  and  berries,  and 
these  were  worth  but  little.  Now  we  have  almost  every 
fruit  of  the  north  temperate  zone,  many  of  the  south  tem- 
perate, and  even  some  of  the  tropical  zone.     Orange  trees 


GENERAL  VIEW   OF  OUR   FRUIT   INDUSTRY  22/ 

were  planted  by  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine,  Florida, 
more  than  half  a  century  before  the  Pilgrims  landed  or 
Plymouth  Rock.  Grapes  were  growing  at  Jamestown  ic 
1619,  and  pears  were  planted  in  New  York  City  elever 
years  later.  We  know  that  we  had  apple  orchards  aboul 
the  same  time ;  and,  about  a  hundred  years  later,  one  oi 
the  villages  near  Boston  reported  the  manufacture  oi 
ten  thousand  barrels  of  cider. 

Fruits  of  many  kinds  were  introduced  with  the  settling 
of  our  country,  and  all  the  world  has  been  called  upon  foi 
our  fruit  trees  and  plants.  Europe  gave  us  apples,  cher- 
ries, and  pears;  Asia  peaches  and  plums,  as  well  as 
oranges  and  figs ;  Africa  has  supplied  the  date  which  we 
are  now  raising  on  some  of  the  semi-arid  lands  of  the 
west ;  and  from  South  America  came  the  navel  orange,  sc 
important  to  commerce. 

We  are  now  raising  more  kinds  of  fruit  than  any  othei 
nation,  and  we  lead  the  world  in  the  value  of  our  fruit 
product  and  in  the  best  methods  of  fruit  preservation 
and  marketing.  When  our  last  census  was  taken,  our  fruil 
crop  was  estimated  at  twelve  billion  pounds,  and  its  value 
at  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  million  dollars,  ar 
amount  much  greater  than  all  the  gold  and  silver  mined 
in  our  country  during  that  year. 

Our  fruit  crop  is  so  large  that  the  labor  of  many  thou- 
sands is  required  to  handle  it ;  and  it  is  so  important  in  some 
localities,  where  the  soil  and  climate  are  exactly  suited  tc 
raising  certain  kinds  of  fruits,  that  the  people  do  little  else 
but  attend  to  it.  The  county  of  Santa  Clara  in  Cali- 
fornia, for  instance,  sometimes  raises  three  million  dollars 
worth  of  fruit  in  one  year ;  and  Fresno  County,  in  the  same 


228 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


state,  produces  so  many  grapes  that  one  year's  crop  will 
sometimes  sell  for  about  two  million  dollars.  There  are 
regions  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Virginia,  Mis- 
souri, Oregon,  and  Washington  where  apples  grow  so  well 
that  the  people  have  large  orchards  of  them  ;  and  Cali- 
fornia and  Florida  have  an  enormous  industry  in  growing 
oranges  for  shipment  to  all  parts  of  our  country. 

If  we  could  look  over  the  United  States  and  examine 
each  locality  carefully,  we  should  find  that  the  larger  share 


A  California  fruit  ranch. 


of  the  money  from  our  fruit  crop  comes  from  the  North 
Atlantic  and  the  North  Central  States  ;  although  the  West- 
ern States  annually  produce  only  a  few  million  dollars'  worth 
of  fruit  less  than  either  of  these  divisions.  Our  seven 
chief  fruit  states  are  California,  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois  and  Indiana.  Missouri,  New 
Jersey,  and  Virginia  are  also  important.  California  pro- 
duces more  than  any  other  state,  its  product  being  almost 
twice  as  valuable  as  that  of  New  York,  which  ranks  next, 
and  nearly  three  times  as  valuable  as  that  of  Pennsylvania, 


APPLES  229 

the  third  of  our  fruit  states  in  rank.  In  one  year  California 
has  realized  fifteen  million  dollars  from  its  fruit  orchards, 
as  well  as  six  million  dollars  from  grapes,  and  more  than 
seven  millions  from  oranges  and  other  subtropical  fruits. 
In  the  same  year  New  York  realized  ten  million  dollars  from 
its  orchards,  about  three  millions  from  grapes,  and  about 
two  and  one  half  millions  from  small  fruits.  When  we  re- 
member how  thickly  New  York  is  populated,  how  many 
cities  it  has,  and  the  great  size  of  New  York  City,  we  can 
see  why  so  much  money  is  realized  from  small  fruits. 


>XK<: 


30.    APPLES 

FRUIT  trees  of  one  kind  or  another  are  to  be  found  in 
almost  every  part  of  the  United  States,  and  in  some 
places  in  such  large  numbers  that  the  business  of  caring 
for  them  and  of  marketing  the  crop  is  the  principal  industry. 
Our  apples,  quinces,  pears,  peaches,  and  plums  annually 
sell  for  enough  to  give  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
our  whole  country  one  dollar  and  leave  some  money  over. 
They  bring  in  about  twice  as  much  as  the  grapes  and  small 
fruits,  and  almost  ten  times  as  much  as  our  oranges,  lemons, 
and  other  productions  of  a  subtropical  nature. 

Of  these  products  the  apple  is  the  most  important.  It 
will  keep  longer  than  any  of  the  others,  and  people  like  it 
the  year  round.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  fruits  known. 
Many  suppose  that  the  apple  was  the  forbidden  fruit 
of  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  that  our  first  parents  were  cast 
out  of  Paradise  for  eating  it.     The  ancient  Greeks  consid- 


230  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

ered  it  the  most  beautiful  of  all  fruits ;  and  it  is  mentioned 
frequently  in  their  legends  of  gods  and  heroes. 

We  remember  the  story  of  the  golden  apple  which 
brought  about  the  ten  years'  siege  of  Troy  and  its  final 
destruction  by  the  Greeks.  The  Goddess  of  Discord  threw 
the  apple  which  bore  the  words,  "  For  the  Fairest,"  into 
a  party  of  gods  and  goddesses.  When  it  fell,  Juno,  the 
wife  of  Jupiter  and  queen  of  all  the  gods;  Minerva,  the 
Goddess  of  Wisdom  ;  and  Venus,  the  Goddess  of  Love  and 
Beauty,  each  claimed  that  she  was  the  fairest  and  ought  to 
have  it.  Jupiter  was  called  in  to  settle  the  dispute,  and  he 
gave  the  decision  over  to  Paris,  a  shepherd  on  Mount  Ida. 
Each  goddess  tried  to  influence  Paris  by  bribes.  Juno 
offered  him  power  and  riches,  Minerva  wisdom,  and  Venus, 
the  most  beautiful  woman  of  all  the  world  for  his  wife. 
He  gave  the  apple  to  Venus,  and  in  return  received 
Helena,  the  wife  of  Menelaus,  king  of  Sparta,  and  carried 
her  to  Troy.  To  get  back  his  wife,  Menelaus  then  raised 
an  army,  and  with  his  brother  kings  of  Greece  began  the 
Trojan  War,  which  is  celebrated  in  the  poems  of  Homer 
and  Virgil. 

And  then  there  is  the  story  of  the  three  golden  apples 
of  the  Garden  of  Hesperides,  which  were  defended  by  a 
horrid  sleepless  dragon  with  one  hundred  heads,  and  of 
how  Hercules  succeeded  in  getting  them  ;  and  also  that  of 
the  fair  maiden  Atalanta,  who  could  run  faster  than  any  one 
else  in  the  world.  Atalanta  was  so  beautiful  and  so  charm- 
ing that  many  a  young  man  wanted  her  for  his  wife,  but  she 
said  she  would  marry  only  him  who  could  distance  her  on 
the  race  track  ;  and  as  she  did  not  want  to  be  troubled  with 
too  many  suitors,  she  also  said  that  every  one  who  ran 


APPLES  231 

with  her  and  failed  should  suffer  death.  At  last  the  cun- 
ning Hippomenes  came  to  try  his  fate.  He  brought  three 
golden  apples  with  him,  and  as  he  ran  he  dropped  one  from 
time  to  time.  Atalanta  could  not  resist  stopping  to  pick 
up  the  apples,  and  Hippomenes  came  out  victorious. 

Apples  are  now  grown  in  most  countries  of  Europe ;  and 
they  thrive  so  well  in  Tasmania  and  in  New  Zealand  that 
they  are  exported  from  these  countries  to  San  Francisco  and 
London.  They  are  grown  more  generally,  however,  in 
North  America  than  in  any  other  continent,  and  more  gen- 
erally in  the  United  States  than  anywhere  else.  The  apple 
was  brought  here  from  Europe  by  our  forefathers,  who 
planted  orchards  almost  everywhere  they  stopped,  as  they 
pushed  their  way  westward ;  so  that  apples  are  now  raised 
on  a  commercial  scale  from  Nova  Scotia  to  North  Carolina, 
and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  They  grow  especially 
well  in  New  England,  in  some  parts  of  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  Missouri,  and  Arkansas,  and  in  certain  valleys  of 
Washington  and  Oregon.  -New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Michigan,  Kansas,  and  Kentucky  are  also  famous 
apple  states,  each  having  millions  of  apple  trees.  Albe- 
marle County,  Virginia,  the  Ozark  Mountain  region  of 
Missouri,  the  Wenatchee  Valley  in  Washington,  and  the 
Hood  River  Valley  in  Oregon  are  celebrated  for  their  large, 
delicious,  and  highly  colored  apples,  and  the  same  is  true 
of  eastern  Canada  and  of  some  of  the  valleys  of  British 
Columbia. 

I  wonder  if  any  of  us  has  ever  heard  of  Johnny  Apple- 
seed  ?  He  was  an  odd  character  who  had  much  to  do  with 
starting  the  first  orchards  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  which 
are   now  two  of  our  chief   apple-raising  states.     Johnny 


232  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

Appleseed's  real  name  was  Jonathan  Chapman.  He  was 
born  in  Boston  in  1775,  and,  when  a  young  man,  he  went  to 
live  in  western  Pennsylvania,  which  was  then  almost  a 
wilderness.  Johnny  somehow  got  the  idea  that  it  was  his 
mission  to  give  apples  to  the  people,  and  he  began  to  plant 
apple  seeds  wherever  he  could.  In  1801  he  drove  westward 
into  Ohio,  carrying  a  wagon  load  of  apple  seeds  which  he 
had  gathered  from  the  Pennsylvania  cider  presses.  He 
picked  out  fertile  spots  along  the  streams  and  planted  or- 
chards. Then  he  went  back  and  got  more  seeds  and 
planted  them.  He  often  carried  a  bag  of  seeds  on  his  back, 
as  he  marched  through  the  woods  from  one  settler's  cabin 
to  another,  and  gave  some  to  each  settler  with  whom  he 
stopped.  Many  of  the  little  trees  which  grew  in  his  wild 
nurseries  he  afterward  dug  up  and  sold  to  those  who  could 
afford  to  pay  for  them ;  but  the  poor  could  have  them  for 
nothing,  or  in  exchange  for  old  clothing,  meal,  or  anything 
he  could  use. 

The  wants  of  Johnny  Appleseed  were  few,  and  he  cared 
little  about  money.  He  lived  simply,  camping  out  in  the 
woods,  or,  if  sleeping  in  a  house,  occupying  the  floor.  His 
dress  was  the  cast-off  clothing  he  had  taken  in  exchange 
for  apple  trees.  In  his  latter  years  he  thought  even 
this  second-hand  raiment  too  luxurious  and  chose,  as  his 
principal  garment,  an  old  coffee  sack  in  the  bottom  and 
sides  of  which  he  cut  holes  for  his  head  and  arms. 

This  strange  man  was  considered  crazy  by  many  of  the 
settlers,  and,  indeed,  some  of  his  actions  lead  us  to  think 
that  he  may  have  been  so.  His  work  in  planting  trees, 
however,  was  of  such  value  to  the  people  of  Ohio  that  they 
have  since  erected  monuments  to  him. 


APPLES  233 

Nearly  all  our  orchard  trees  are  now  grown  in  nurseries, 
which  are  to  be  found  in  every  fruit-raising  section.  The 
nurserymen  make  a  business  of  raising  young  trees  and 
plants  for  sale  to  those  who  set  them  out  in  orchards  or 
gardens.  In  the  nurseries  the  seeds  of  the  most  hardy  of 
each  kind  of  tree  are  planted  in  rows.  They  sprout  quickly, 
and  soon  make  their  way  through  the  ground.  After  a 
short  time  they  are  budded,  in  order  to  get  the  varieties  of 
fruits  most  desired. 

This  budding  is  an  interesting  process.  It  is  based  upon 
the  fact  that  the  bud  of  any  apple  or  other  fruit  tree,  if  cut 
off  with  a  part  of  the  bark  to  which  it  is  joined  and  slipped 
under  the  bark  of  another  variety  of  the  same  tree,  will 
grow  into  a  branch  which  will  produce  fruit  of  the  same 
kind  of  tree  as  that  from  which  the  bud  came.  For 
instance,  if  the  bud  of  a  Northern  Spy  be  thus  set  into  a 
Baldwin  tree,  the  branch  from  that  bud  will  grow  Northern 
Spy  apples,  and  not  Baldwins.  So  the  nurserymen  set  into 
each  little  tree,  near  the  ground,  one  choice  bud ;  and, 
when  that  bud  sprouts,  they  cut  off  all  the  other  branches 
and  make  the  tree  grow  from  that  bud  only,  knowing  that 
its  fruit  will  be  that  of  the  tree  from  which  the  bud  comes. 
In  this  way  they  can  sell  trees  in  large  numbers  which  are 
sure  to  produce  the  same  kind  of  fruit.  Millions  of  trees 
are  thus  budded  every  year,  and  it  is  from  them  that  most 
of  our  choice  fruit  comes. 

Fruit  trees  are  bought  for  planting  when  they  are  one, 
two,  three,  or  more  years  old.  The  nurserymen  put  them 
up  in  bundles,  wrapping  the  roots  with  wet  moss,  if  they  are 
to  take  a  long  railroad  journey,  or  to  wait  some  time  before 
being  planted.      In  the  meantime,  the  orchard  men  have 


234 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


plowed  their  fields  and  fitted  the  ground  for  the  trees. 
They  set  them  out  in  rows,  fifteen,  twenty,  and  sometimes 
more  feet  apart,  according  to  the  variety,  and  carefully 
cultivate  them  from  year  to  year. 


Apple  .orchard. 

In  planting  apple  trees  some  orchardists  make  the  dis- 
tance between  the  trees  thirty-two  feet,  and  some  even 
forty  feet,  in  order  that  the  trees  may  not  interfere  with 
one  another  when  full-grown.  The  apple  tree  is  compara- 
tively long  lived.  It  begins  to  produce  fruit  at  from  three 
to  ten  years  of  age,  according  to  its  variety ;  and  it  will 
continue  to  yield  if  properly  cared  for  thirty  or  more 
years. 

In  our  better  orchards  the  trees  are  carefully  watched. 
They  are  trimmed  every  season  and  are  sprayed  several 
times  a  year  with  some  poisonous  liquid  which  kills  the 


APPLES 


235 


insects  upon  them  and  keeps  them  free  from  disease. 
Each  tree  is  also  examined  to  see  that  no  worms  are  feed- 
ing upon  its  roots,  and  the  small  and  imperfect  apples  are 
taken  off  in  order  to  let  the  strength  of  the  tree  go  into  the 
best  fruit. 

The  apples  are  picked  by  hand  in  order  that  they  may 
not  be  bruised.     They  are  next  sorted  into  sizes  and  then 


Picking  apples. 


packed  up  in  boxes  or  barrels  for  the  markets.  In  harvest- 
ing some  of  the  choice  varieties,  each  apple  is  wrapped  in 
tissue  paper  before  being  placed  in  the  boxes ;  and  every 
box  is  marked  with  the  number  of  apples  it  contains,  a  box 
holding  from  seventy  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-six,  ac- 
cording to  size.     Apples  which  have  fallen  on  the  ground 


236  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

are  bruised  and  cannot  be  used  for  shipping.     These  are 
preserved  or  made  into  cider. 

The  most  of  our  apples  are  consumed  at  home,  although 
many  are  sent  in  cold  storage  steamers  to  England  and 
other  parts  of  Europe,  to  South  America,  and  the  West 


Packing  the  apple  crop. 

Indies,  and  even  across  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  the  Philippines, 
Hawaii,  China,  and  Japan.  We  are  rapidly  increasing  the 
extent  of  our  apple  orchards  and  also  the  number  of  locali- 
ties where  apples  are  commercially  grown.  Of  all  the 
orchards  of  the  United  States  more  than  one  half  are  de- 
voted to  apples  and  we  now  have  more  than  two  hundred 
million  trees.  The  states  having  the  greatest  number  of 
apple  trees  are  Missouri,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Pennsylvania, 
Michigan,   Kansas,   Kentucky,   Indiana,  and  Virginia. 


PEACHES  237 


31.    PEACHES 

CHINA  is  the  home  of  the  peach.  It  came  by  way 
of  Persia  to  Europe,  and  thence  to  the  United 
States. 

The  Chinese  peaches,  however,  are  by  no  means  so  fine 
to-day  as  are  the  American  peaches,  nor  are  they  grown  in 
such  quantities.  Persian  peaches  are  now  unknown  to 
commerce,  and  the  peach  crop  of  Europe  cannot  compare 
in  value  and  in  character  with  ours.  The  climate  of 
northern  Europe  is  such  that  fine  peaches  cannot  well  be 
grown  there  out  of  doors.  Peach  orchards  are  few,  and 
the  trees  must  either  be  trained  against  garden  walls,  fac- 
ing the  sun,  or  be  cultivated  in  hothouses  under  glass. 

Even  in  our  own  country,  until  a  generation  or  so  ago, 
the  peach  crop  was  of  no  great  importance.  Until  that 
time  all  our  peaches  came  from  New  Jersey,  Maryland, 
and  the  eastern  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  ;  and  the  peach- 
eating  season  lasted  only  from  the  middle  of  August  until 
the  latter  part  of  September.  Now  we  have  three  hundred 
different  varieties  of  peaches,  and  they  are  grown  all  over 
the  United  States,  excepting  in  Maine,  Vermont,  and  the 
cold  regions  of  the  northwest  beyond  the  Great  Lakes.  We 
have  ripe  peaches  in  our  markets  from  May  until  Novem- 
ber. It  has  been  found  that  peaches  will  grow  almost 
everywhere,  and  that  the  Southern  States  will  produce 
them  before  they  are  ripe  farther  north.  There  are  sec- 
tions of  the  north  that  will  grow  late  fruit ;  and  all  together 
the  several  crops  ripen  at  such  widely  different  times  that, 
by  means  of  refrigerator  or  iced  cars,  we  can  have  peaches 


238  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

all  over  the  country  for  four  or  five  times  as  long  a  season 
as  in  the  past. 

Georgia,  Colorado,  Missouri,  Kansas,  Texas,  and  Cali- 
fornia are  each  producing  more  peaches  than  were  raised 
half  a  century  ago  in  our  so-called  peach  belt ;  and  Con- 
necticut, which  was  then  considered  too  cold  for  peaches, 
now  yields  more  than  Delaware.  When  our  census  offi- 
cials made  their  last  count  of  Uncle  Sam's  orchards,  he  had 
all  together  more  than  one  hundred  million  peach  trees, 
and  peach  growing  had  become  a  great  industry,  employ- 
ing many  thousand  people  and  vast  sums  of  money. 

The  discovery  that  peaches  could  be  cultivated  profit- 
ably outside  the  peach  belt  above  mentioned  was  largely 
due  to  a  New  England  schoolboy  whose  father  had  died 
when  he  was  quite  small  and  who  had  to  work  out  by  the 
month,  during  vacations,  to  make  money  to  help  support 
his  mother  and  to  keep  down  the  interest  on  the  mortgage 
upon  their  home.  One  day  when  the  boy  was  about  twelve 
years  old  he  was  cutting  corn  for  a  farmer,  on  a  high  hill 
overlooking  the  beautiful  Connecticut  Valley,  when,  right 
in  the  midst  of  the  corn,  he  found  a  seedling  tree  loaded 
down  with  ripe  rosy  peaches.  He  was  tired  from  handling 
the  heavy  stalks,  and  he  sat  down  to  rest  under  the  tree, 
pulling  off  some  of  the  fruit  and  eating  it.  As  he  munched 
the  delicious  peaches,  he  thought  how  fine  it  would  be  if 
he  could  have  an  orchard  full  of  such  trees  and  could 
make  enough  from  it  not  only  to  pay  off  the  mortgage,  but 
to  give  him  all  the  money  he  needed.  He  then  and  there 
resolved  to  save  every  cent  he  could  and  to  buy  trees  and 
plant  them. 

The  next  year  he  left  school  and  started  his  peach  or- 


PEACHES  239 

chard  on  the  home  farm,  setting  out  a  few  trees  at  first  and 
planting  more  and  more,  as  he  was  able  to  save  the  money 
to  buy  them.  He  raised  strawberries  and  other  small  fruits 
between  the  rows  of  peach  trees,  to  help  pay  his  expenses, 
until  the  trees  should  be  three  or  four  years  old,  and  should 
begin  to  bear  fruit.  All  this  time  he  was  trying  to  learn 
where  the  trees  would  grow  best,  produce  the  most  fruit, 
and  be  safest  from  the  frosts  which  often  kill  the  fruit  buds. 
He  observed  that  the  best  trees  in  Connecticut  were  on  the 
sides  and  tops  of  the  hills  ;  and  he  tramped  around  at  day- 
light on  the  winter  mornings,  with  a  thermometer,  to  learn 
just  which  places  were  the  coldest.  He  found  that  the  tem- 
perature would  vary  from  fifteen  to  twenty  degrees  below 
zero  on  the  levels  and  in  the  valleys  ;  while,  on  the  hillsides, 
not  more  than  fifty  feet  higher,  it  would  be  only  eight  or  ten 
degrees  below  zero ;  and  on  the  tops  of  the  hills,  three  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  valleys  and  perhaps  a  mile  away,  only 
zero.  This  showed  him  that  the  hills  were  the  best  places 
to  plant  his  trees,  and  it  was  upon  them  that  he  set  out  his 
orchards. 

All  this  while  the  farmers  were  laughing  at  him  and 
telling  him  he  was  wasting  his  time  trying  to  grow  peaches 
in  Connecticut.  The  men  who  had  a  two  thousand  dollar 
mortgage  on  his  home  did  not  approve  of  his  orchards,  and 
they  finally  told  him  they  could  wait  for  their  money  only 
three  months  longer.  In  the  meanwhile  his  peach  trees 
had  been  growing  in  number  and  in  size.  He  had  now  a 
large  orchard  in  which  the  fruit  was  almost  ripe ;  and  be- 
fore the  three  months  were  up,  he  marketed  his  crop  and 
received  more  than  ten  thousand  dollars  for  it.  He  paid 
off  the  mortgage  with  part  of  the  money  and  put  the  rest 


240  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

of  it  into  more  peach  trees;  and  he  continued  to  add  to 
the  extent  of  his  orchards  until  he  finally  became  one  of 
the  chief  fruit  growers  of  our  country  and  much  richer 
then  he  had  ever  hoped  to  be. 

Others  in  Connecticut  who  had  observed  his  success  then 
began  to  set  out  orchards,  and  that  state  is  now  one  of 
the  chief  peach-raising  regions  of  our  country.  This  same 
man  afterward  went  to  Georgia  and  planted  peaches 
there.  He  had  at  one  time  three  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand trees  in  his  Georgia  orchards ;  and  early  peaches 
raised  by  him  were  shipped  to  all  the  large  cities  of  the 
north.  Since  then  Georgia  has  become  one  of  our  best 
fruit  states,  and  its  peach  trees  are  now  numbered  by 
millions. 

If  we  could  visit  a  big  Georgia  orchard,  we  should  find 
that  peaches  are  by  no  means  easy  to  grow.  The  trees 
must  be  started  in  nurseries,  by  planting  the  peach  stones 
and  budding  the  sprouts,  as  already  described.  When 
they  are  a  year  or  two  old,  they  are  set  out,  each  little  tree 
being  first  so  trimmed  that  it  looks  more  like  a  switch  than 
anything  else.  The  trees  are  planted  in  rows,  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  apart.  They  are  carefully  cultivated,  being 
trimmed  year  after  year.  They  are  fed  with  fertilizers,  and 
each  tree  is  examined  once  or  twice  every  season  to  see 
whether  a  little  worm,  known  as  the  borer,  is  not  eating 
away  at  its  roots.  Sometimes  the  trees  are  washed,  to  kill 
the  insects  upon  them,  and  sometimes  they  are  sprayed, 
in  order  to  kill  horrid  little  animals,  called  scales,  which, 
if  not  destroyed,  multiply  so  rapidly  that  they  eventually 
ruin  the  tree,  eating  away  at  its  bark  and  sucking  the 
sap. 


PEACHES 


241 


As  the  peaches  ripen,  the  imperfect  ones  are  picked  off, 
and  the  others  are  thinned,  in  order  that  there  may  be  only 
enough  peaches  on  each  tree  to  produce  the  largest  and 
finest  fruit.  In  picking  peaches  great  care  is  taken  that 
they  be  not  bruised.  Each  picker  has  a  small  canvas  bag 
marked  with   his  name  and  tickets  bearing  his  number. 


Peach  pickers. 

He  picks  the  fruit  into  trie  bag  and  then  empties  it  into 
a  basket,  putting  first  his  ticket  on  the  bottom.  When 
the  basket  is  full  it  is  taken  to  the  packing  house  ;  and  the 
ticket  shows  who  did  the  picking.  If  any  bad  or  bruised 
peaches  are  found,  an  inspector  on  horseback  gallops  off 
and  warns  the  man  he  is  not  doing  good  work. 

The  peach  packing  houses  are  immense  sheds  filled  with 

FOODS  —  l6 


242 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


long  tables,  behind  which  men  and  women  stand  to  sort 
the  peaches  as  they  come  in.  Other  hands  pack  them  as 
they  are  sorted,  and  others  nail  up  the  crates  and  put  them 
on  the  refrigerator  cars  which  take  them  to  the  markets 
all  over  the  country.  The  refrigerator  cars  are  kept 
cool  by  ice  and  the  crates  and  baskets  of  peaches  are  so 
placed  that  there  is  a  circulation  of  cold  air  about  each  one 
during  the  entire  journey.  Peaches  that  are  too  ripe  for 
shipping  are  used  for  canning  and  drying. 

In    the    smaller   orchards    the  peaches  are   loaded   on 
wagons  and  carried  to  the  railroad  stations.     Along  the 


Shipping  peaches  from  a  small  orchard. 

shores  of  Lake  Michigan  they  are  taken  to  Chicago  by 
fast  steamers,  the  greatest  diligence  being  used  to  get 
them  to  the  markets  in  the  shortest  possible  "time. 


APRICOTS,  PEARS,  QUINCES,  CHERRIES,  AND  PLUMS      243 


32.    APRICOTS,    PEARS,    QUINCES,    CHERRIES, 
AND   PLUMS 

APRICOTS  and  plums,  as  well  as  pears,  quinces,  and 
cherries,  may  be  found  fresh,  dried,  or  canned,  in  every 
American  market.  The  apricot  resembles  both  the  peach 
and  the  plum.  The  tree  is  like 
the  plum  tree,  but  the  fruit,  when 
ripe,  looks  more  like  the  peach. 
It  is  as  hardy  as  the  peach,  but, 
as  it  blooms  early,  it  is  some- 
times killed  by  Jack  Frost. 

The  apricot  is  supposed  to 
have  originated  in  China.  It 
was  carried  to  Europe  by  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  and  centuries 
later  was  brought  to  America. 
It  grows  well  in  our  Pacific  Coast 
States  and  especially  in  Cali- 
fornia, where  more  than  one 
million  bushels  are  produced  an- 
nually. The  fruit  is  excellent 
for  drying  and  canning,  in  which 
form  it  is  shipped  all  over  the 
world. 

Pears,  cherries,  and  quinces 
are  also  largely  preserved.  The  pear  is  a  native  of 
Europe.  It  was  first  brought  to  the  United  States  about 
1630,  when  a  tree  was  planted  near  Governor  Endicott's 
house  in  Boston.     It  now  ranks  fourth  among  our  orchard 


Apricots. 


244 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


fruits  and  is  grown  commercially  in  all  our  states  from  New 
England  to  the  Great  Lakes,  and  also  in  Texas,  Michigan, 
California,  Washington,  and  Oregon,  the  chief  pear-grow- 
ing states   being   California,    New   York,    Michigan,  and 


Sorting  cherries  for  the  markets. 


Texas.  The  pear,  like  the  apple,  will  keep  quite  a  long 
time ;  and,  like  the  peach,  it  is  delicious  when  canned. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  quince,  which  also  resembles 
somewhat  both  the  pear  and  the  apple,  but  which  cannot 
be  eaten  until  cooked.  The  quince  is  the  least  important 
of  our  orchard  fruits,  and,  although  it  has  been  cultivated 
for  two  thousand  years,  it  has  almost  no  place  as  an  article 
of  commerce. 

Cherries  are  very  generally  grown  in  our  country.     They 


APRICOTS,  PEARS,  QUINCES,  CHERRIES,  AND  PLUMS      245 

are  eaten  fresh  and  are  also  especially  valuable  for  canning 
and  preserving.  They  are  raised  in  large  quantities  in 
Europe  and  also  in  Japan  and  China.  The  Japanese  have 
certain  varieties  of  cherries  which  they  cultivate  only  for 
their  flowers.  In  cherry  blossom  season  they  hold  picnics 
under  the  trees,  and  the  boys  and  girls,  as  well  as  the 
older  people,  write  verses  about  the  beauties  of  nature 
which  they  tie  to  the  cherry  tree  branches. 

Far  more  important  than  any  other  of  our  orchard 
fruits,  excepting  the  apple  and  peach,  is  the  plum.  It 
grows  well  in  the  United  States ;  and  certain  varieties, 
from  which  prunes  are  made,  thrive  to  such  an  extent  in 
California,  Idaho,  Oregon,  and  Washington,  that  we  pro- 
duce many  million  pounds  of  dried  prunes  every  year  and 
even  export  them  to  other  countries. 

The  plum  is  a  near  relative  of  the  peach,  but  is 
distinguished  from  it  by  the  character  of  its  flesh,  its 
smooth  skin,  and  its  small,  unwrinkled  stone.  It  is  a 
native  of  many  parts  of  the  temperate  zone  and  was 
found  growing  in  North  America  when  the  New  World 
was  discovered.  It  is  of  many  varieties,  some  of  the  most 
peculiar  of  which  are  found  in  Japan  and  China.  At 
Kowshing,  China,  for  instance,  grow  delicious  plums, 
each  of  which  has  a  dimple  in  one  cheek.  While  there 
some  years  ago,  my  guide  told  me  the  story  of  how  this 
dimple  originated.     He  said  :  — 

"  Centuries  ago  we  had  here  in  Kowshing  a  princess 
noted  for  her  beauty  and  gentle  ways.  She  was 
fond  of  fruit,  and  one  day,  while  eating  some  plums, 
she  picked  out  an  especially  fine  one  and  pressed  her 
dainty  little  finger  into  it.      The    pressure  left  a  dimple. 


246  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD  IS   FED 

Upon  tasting  the  plum,  she  found  it  so  delicious  that 
she  saved  the  stone  and  planted  it.  This  in  time  grew 
into  a  tree  which  bore  plums  equally  sweet;  but  each 
of  the  new  plums,  strange  to  say,  had  a  dimple  in  its 
side.  The  plums  were  so  fine  that  they  became  famous 
throughout  China,  and  buds  from  that  tree  were  carried 
everywhere." 

There  are  many  widely  different  varieties  of  plums. 
Some  are  sweet,  and  some  sour,  some  large,  and  some 
small.  It  is  only  the  large  sweet  varieties  which  are  used 
for  prunes,  and  the  finest  prune  plums  still  come  from 
Europe.  France,  Germany,  Servia,  Spain,  Austria,  and 
South  Africa  are  all  prune-producing  regions.  France 
was  for  a  long  time  the  chief  prune-growing  country  of 
the  world.  Within  the  past  generation,  however,  we  have 
begun  to  produce  prunes  in  our  Pacific  Coast  States,  and 
we  now  market  more  than  any  other  one  country.  There 
are  California  valleys  which  are  almost  covered  with  prune 
orchards ;  and  delicious  prunes  are  commercially  grown  in 
Oregon,  Washington,  and  Idaho. 

In  making  prunes,  the  fruit  is  picked  by  hand  and  care- 
fully washed  in  warm  water.  All  the  imperfect  plums  are 
taken  out  and  the  remainder  are  sorted  according  to  size. 
They  are  next  dipped  in  a  mild  solution  of  lye  to  crack 
the  skin,  so  that  the  heat  of  the  sun  can  penetrate  the 
pulp,  and  they  are  then  spread  out  upon  long  wicker  trays 
or  boxes  about  a  yard  wide  and  set  in  the  sun  for  a  week 
or  longer  to  cure.  Several  times  a  day  men  go  about  and 
stir  them,  rolling  them  over  and  over,  so  that  they  may  be 
evenly  cured  on  all  sides.  When  thoroughly  dried,  they 
are  taken  back  to  the  packing  houses  and  stored  in  bins, 


APRICOTS,  PEARS,  QUINCES,  CHERRIES,  AND  PLUMS      247 

until  the  rush  of  the  picking  and  curing  season  is  over. 
After  this  they  are  again  sorted  and  graded  and  packed 
up  in  boxes,  by  machinery  and  by  hand,  and  shipped  to 
the  mark'ets. 

In  the  more  fancy  varieties,  the  boxes  have  glass  lids, 
and  the  prunes  are  fitted  in,  one  by  one,  so  carefully  that 


Plums  drying  for  prunes. 

they  lie  in  rows.  Many  school  children  are  employed  in 
California  in  picking  and  curing  this  fruit.  The  work  can 
be  carried  on  during  vacations,  and  girls  and  boys  and 
even  students  from  high  schools  and  universities  go  out 
from  the  cities  to  aid  in  the  harvest.  In  some  orchards 
the  prunes  are  dried  over  a  fire,  and  in  certain  parts  of 
Europe  they  are  partially  cooked  before  they  are  dried. 


248  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


33-    GRAPES 

WE  want  to  know  something  about  our  grape  indus- 
try. It  is  more  extensive  in  California  than  any- 
where else  in  the  United  States.  This  state  has  more  than 
one  hundred  million  vines,  and  it  raises  enough  grapes  in 
one  year  to  give  ten  pounds  to  every  man  and  woman  and 
boy  and  girl  in  the  United  States,  including  the  babies. 

The  grape  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  cultivated  plants. 
The  ancients  considered  it,  like  the  olive,  the  symbol  of 
civilized  life,  and  the  Greeks  and  Romans  paid  worship  to 
Bacchus,  the  God  of  the  Vine.  The  grape  grows  wild  in 
the  Mediterranean  countries  of  Europe,  and  also  in  some 
parts  of  Asia.  When  our  forefathers  came  to  America,  it 
was  found  all  along  the  coasts  of  our  country  from  Massa- 
chusetts to  Florida,  and  the  Indians  ate  grapes,  fresh  and 
dried. 

The  cultivation  of  grapes  dates  back  to  the  beginning  of 
history.  They  were  eaten  by  the  early  Egyptians  and 
were  introduced  into  England  by  the  Romans.  They  are 
now  raised  in  almost  every  part  of  Europe  ;  and  in  France, 
Italy,  and  some  other  countries  they  form  a  principal  crop. 
France  produces  so  much  wine  every  year  that  she  could 
give  every  inhabitant  of  the  world  a  gallon  and  have  some 
left  over.  Italy  makes  about  half  as  much  wine  as  France, 
and  Spain  half  as  much  as  Italy.  In  our  country  we  raise 
grapes  to  eat  fresh  or  as  raisins  and  also  for  making  wine. 
We  do  not,  however,  lead  as  a  wine-growing  country ;  for 
we  are  not,  as  a  nation,  wine  drinkers,  and  we  think  it  is 
much  better  for  us  that  this  is  the  case. 


GRAPES 


249 


To-day  grapes  are  raised  commercially  in  New  York, 
Ohio,  Virginia,  Missouri,  and  in  all  the  Southern  States 
from  North  Carolina  to  Texas,  and  also  in  California, 
New  Mexico,  and  Arizona.  Many  of  our  grapes,  such 
as  the  Scuppernong  and  Catawba,  are  the  offsprings  of 
those  found  growing  wild  when  our  forefathers  came  to 


w 

I  ! 

A  vineyard  in  France. 


this  country,  and  others,  especially  those  of  California, 
come  from  the  choicest  grapevines  of  Europe. 

Our  first  attempt  at  grape  culture  was  made  in  Virginia 
in  16 10  by  a  Frenchman,  who  planted  a  vineyard  at 
Jamestown.  About  ten  years  later  more  Frenchmen  came 
over;  and  when  Thomas  Jefferson  was  President  Con- 
gress   gave  a  grant  of    land    to    some    immigrants    from 


250  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

Switzerland  who  wished  to  try  grape  growing  in  southern 
Indiana  on  the  Ohio  River.  These  enterprises,  however, 
were  not  successful;  but  vineyards  set  out  near  Cincin- 
nati some  years  later  did  better;  and  now  the  grape  is 
cultivated  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  We 
have  learned  what  localities  are  best  fitted  for  grape  rais- 
ing ;  and  by  the  use  of  cold  storage  and  other  methods, 
we  are  able  so  to  transport  and  keep  grapes  that  we  have 
them  to  eat  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 

In  order  that  the  grapevine  may  be  successfully  grown, 
it  must  have  plenty  of  sun,  not  too  much  moisture,  and 
an  excellent  soil.  These  conditions  are  just  right  in 
California.  The  state  runs  north  and  south  through  ten 
degrees  of  latitude ;  it  has  mountains,  hills,  slopes,  rivers, 
and  valleys,  giving  it  such  a  variety  of  temperature  and 
of  soil  that  it  can  raise  almost  any  kind  of  grapes  for  eat- 
ing, for  raisins,  or  for  wines. 

Grapevines  are  grown  from  cuttings.  Slips  of  the  ripe 
wood,  cut  off  in  the  fall,  are  buried  in  the  ground  until  the 
following  spring,  when  they  are  planted  in  nurseries.  They 
soon  sprout  and  a  little  later  they  are  set  out  in  the  vine- 
yards. The  vines  are  carefully  cultivated,  being  trimmed 
back  from  year  to  year.  In  the  eastern  parts  of  the  United 
States  they  are  frequently  grown  over  arbors  or  on  trellises  ; 
but  in  California  each  vine  stands  alone,  out  in  the  field, 
often  without  a  stake  or  anything  to  support  it. 

The  vines  begin  to  bear  at  about  two  years  of  age,  and 
every  year  after  this  they  are  cut  back  to  the  trunk,  so 
that  the  new  branches  trail  out  on  all  sides  on  the  ground. 
After  a  few  years'  pruning,  the  trunk  grows  stout  and 
stubby,  like  the  body  of  a  small  oak  tree ;  and  it  is  seldom 


GRAPES 


251 


more  than  two  or  three  feet  in  height,  although  it  may  be 
eight  or  nine  inches  thick. 

But  we  shall  see  this  better  in  the  vineyards.  Let  us 
suppose  that  we  are  in  Fresno  County,  California,  where 
so  many  grapes  are  raised  that  if  one  year's  crop  could  be 
distributed  over  the  United  States,  every  one  of  us  might 
have  a  handful  and  a  quantity  be  left  over.     This  is  one 


In  California  each  vine  stands  alone. 


of  our  chief  raisin-making  regions,  and  we  shall  be  able 
to  see  the  people  drying  the  grapes  and  packing  them  for 
the  market. 

The  time  of  our  visit  is  midsummer.  How  hot  it  is  ! 
The  sun  shines  down  like  a  ball  of  fire,  and  the  heat  waves 
are  dancing  above  the  green  vines.  The  country  is  flat, 
and,  by  climbing  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  packing  houses, 


252  FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 

we  can  see  the  vines  reaching  away  for  miles  on  each 
side.  The  land  is  almost  level.  It  is  cut  up  by  irrigating 
canals,  and  white  streams  are  flowing  here  and  there 
amongst  the  green  leaves.  There  are  two  thousand  miles 
of  canals  in  this  region,  with  two  or  three  times  as  many 
miles  of  ditches  running  out  from  them  to  water  the  grapes. 

We  come  down  from  the  roof  of  the  packing  house  and 
walk  through  one  of  the  vineyards.  The  vines  are  about 
as  high  as  our  waists,  and  their  great  branches,  loaded  with 
bunches  of  almost  transparent  white  and  green  grapes,  lie 
upon  the  ground,  so  that  one  might  think  they  would  be 
baked  by  the  sun.  Pick  up  some  of  the  ripe  fruit  and 
taste  it.  How  sweet !  This  variety  is  known  as  the 
White  Muscat.  It  is  a  large  grape,  with  a  soft  thin  skin 
and  a  hard  plump  pulp,  so  full  of  sugar  that  it  is  especially 
good  for  raisins. 

But  let  us  go  to  the  other  side  of  the  vineyard  and 
watch  the  men  and  boys  picking  the  fruit.  Each  has  a 
tray  about  two  feet  long  and  three  feet  wide.  He  lays 
the  ripe  bunches  carefully  upon  this,  handling  each  bunch 
by  its  stem  in  order  not  to  injure  the  bloom  on  the  grapes 
nor  bruise  them,  as  he  transfers  them  from  the  vine  to  the 
tray.  He  cuts  off  the  bunches  with  a  sharp  curved  knife 
and  then  snips  away  any  defective  berries  with  a  pair  of 
scissors,  laying  the  bunches  carefully  down.  The  tray  will 
hold  twenty-five  pounds  of  grapes,  and  these,  when  dried, 
will  yield  just  about  five  pounds  of  raisins. 

When  his  tray  is  full,  the  man  carries  it  to  one  side 
and  so  places  it  that  the  full  rays  of  the  sun  will  shine 
upon  it  all  day  long.  It  is  not  disturbed  for  a  week  or 
longer;   and  then    the  half-dried   grapes    are   turned   by 


GRAPES  253 

placing  an  empty  tray  over  the  full  one  and  inverting  the 
latter.  The  trays  fit  so  closely  that  the  grapes  may  be 
turned  in  this  way  without  handling.  They  are  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  sun  for  a  few  days  longer ;  then  they  are 
taken  to  the  packing  house  and  put  into  sweat  boxes,  which 


Picking  grapes  for  raisins  in  California. 

even  the  moisture  and  give  the  grapes  the  aroma  that  the 
lover  of  raisins  enjoys  almost  as  much  as  the  taste. 

After  this  sweating  process,  the  grapes  are  taken  out 
and  packed.  The  bunches  are  first  separated  from  the  loose 
grapes  and  then  carefully  placed  in  boxes  in  layers.  The 
bunches  that  are  too  small  for  this  purpose  are  put  into  a 
stemming  machine,  from  which  they  are  carried  to  a  series 


254  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

of  sifters ;  and  they  are  finally  sold  as  crown  raisins,  the 
loose  raisins  we  use  for  cooking. 

Leaving  this  vineyard,  we  go  to  others,  finding  hun- 
dreds of  men,  women,  and  children  gathering  grapes.  In 
some  places  the  grapes  are  of  a  smaller  variety,  without 
seeds,  known  as  Sultanas,  from  which  seedless  raisins  are 
made ;  and  in  others  they  are  Muskats,  grown  upon  vines 
which  have  been  brought  to  California  from  Chile,  where 
the  climate  and  soil  are  very  similar  to  the  climate  and 
soil  of  California. 

Until  within  comparatively  recent  years,  all  the  raisins 
used  in  the  United  States  were  imported  from  Europe. 
They  came  from  the  warm  countries  along  the  Mediterra- 
nean Sea,  and  especially  from  southeastern  Spain,  a  region 
which  is  noted  for  the  Malaga  grape,  and  which  is  to-day 
one  of  the  raisin-producing  parts  of  the  world.  If  we  could 
go  there,  we  would  find  the  grapes  cultivated  by  very 
similar  methods  to  those  used  in  California.  They  are 
allowed  to  lie  on  the  ground,  and  are  carefully  picked. 
They  are  not  only  dried  in  the  sun,  as  here,  but  in  some 
places  are  also  cured  by  steam,  the  cut  grapes  being  put 
into  baskets  and  brought  on  the  backs  of  donkeys  to  the 
drying  places.  In  other  Spanish  vineyards  the  grapes  are 
made  into  raisins  by  dipping  them  in  boiling  lye,  which 
wrinkles  the  skin  and  cures  the  flesh. 

When  the  Californians  first  tried  to  dry  raisins  they 
were  not  successful.  They  did  not  know  what  grapes  to 
use  nor  just  how  to  cure  them  ;  but  they  sent  men  to  the 
countries  along  the  Mediterranean  and  elsewhere  to  learn 
the  best  methods  of  raisin  making,  and  to-day  our  raisins 
are  as  delicious  as  any  in  the  world. 


BERRIES  255 

In  traveling  over  California  we  visit  vineyards  where  the 
ripe  grapes  are  gathered  and  their  juice  squeezed  out  to 
be  made  into  wine.  The  juice  is  allowed  to  ferment  and 
is  then  carefully  stored  in  cellars  for  a  time  to  cure,  after 
which  it  is  put  into  bottles  or  casks  and  shipped  to  the 
markets. 


3j*:< 


34.    BERRIES 

WE  have  many  small  fruits  which  are  grown  in  large 
quantities,  some  of  which  are  eaten  fresh,  and 
others  are  dried,  canned,  or  otherwise  preserved  for  the 
table. 

Of  these  the  chief  are  strawberries,  blackberries,  raspber- 
ries, currants,  gooseber- 
ries, and  cranberries,  all 
of  which,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  cranberries,  are 
to  be  found  growing  in 
almost  every  part  of  the 
United  States.  There  are 
so  many  berries  brought 
to  our  markets  that  they 
annually  sell  for  one  tenth 

,  .    ,  ,  Strawberries. 

as  much  as  our  vegetables. 

Several  hundred  thousand  acres  are  devoted  to  raising 
them,  and  the  largest  part  of  them  are  grown  in  thickly 
populated  neighborhoods,  in  such  states  as  New  York, 
Ohio,  Michigan,  Massachusetts,  Illinois,  Indiana,  New 
Jersey,  and  Missouri. 


256  FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 

We  have  all  eaten  strawberries.  They  are  the  most 
important  of  the  small  fruits,  this  crop  giving  employment 
to  more  men  and  bringing  in  more  money  than  any  of  the 
others.  They  may  be  grown  anywhere  in  America  from 
Florida  to  Alaska;  and  even  in  the  highlands  of  Mexico 
there  are  climates  where  strawberries  are  ripe  all  the  year 
round. 

The  strawberry  grows  wild  in  many  parts  of  the  United 
States.  It  may  be  found  in  fields  or  in  woods  and  often 
along  the  fence  corners.  It  is  improved  by  cultivation, 
however,  and  the  greater  part  of  our  product  comes  from 
beds  of  choice  varieties,  where  the  vines  are  carefully  cul- 
tivated and  the  berries  picked  in  baskets  and  packed  in 
crates  for  shipment  to  the  markets.  Strawberries  must  be 
eaten  a  short  time  after  they  are  picked,  but,  since  re- 
frigerator cars  have  been  invented,  it  is  possible  to  send 
them  long  distances.  We  have  strawberry  beds  in  our 
Southern  States  from  which  the  early  ripening  berries  are 
shipped  in  great  quantities  to  the  markets.  Later  in  the 
year,  the  berries  from  the  colder  parts  of  the  country  come 
in,  so  that  our  strawberry  season  now  lasts  several  months. 

Have  you  ever  visited  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  ?  If 
you  will  go  there  at  the  right  time,  you  may  have  all  the 
blackberries  and  raspberries  you  can  eat,  for  the  picking. 
These  fruits  grow  wild  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the 
Appalachian  Chain  and  in  many  other  places.  They  are 
also  cultivated,  and  it  is  the  cultivated  varieties  that  give  us 
the  finest  fruit.  Both  blackberries  and  raspberries  are  used 
largely  for  canning,  and  also  for  making  jellies  and  jams. 

Currants  and  gooseberries  are  grown  almost  altogether 
for  canning.     Gooseberries  are  often  eaten  in  pies  and  in 


BERRIES  257 

tarts;  and  we  remember  how  proud  Oliver  Goldsmith's 
Vicar  of  Wakefield  was  of  his  wife's  home-made  goose- 
berry wine.  The  gooseberry  is  especially  fine  in  England, 
where  it  has  been  cultivated  for  hundreds  of  years.  It  is 
raised  in  the  northern  parts  of  our  country,  and  especially 
in  Indiana,  which  might  be  called  our  chief  gooseberry 
state. 

More  important  still  is  the  currant,  which  we  use  in 
large  quantities  for  jellies.  We  have  eight  different  states 
each  producing  more  than  a  million  quarts  of  currant  jelly 
every  year. 

The  currant  is  found  throughout  our  Northern  States,  in 
northern  Europe,  and  also  in  Asia,  where  the  delicious 
red  currant  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains  thrives  as  high  as 
two  miles  or  more  above  the  sea. 

In  addition  to  these  small  fruits,  we  have  some  others, 
such  as  huckleberries  and  elderberries,  which,  although 
eaten  to  a  considerable  extent  both  fresh  and  canned,  are 
of  little  value  in  commerce. 

We  have  one  berry  which  is  odder,  perhaps,  than  any 
of  the  others.  It  is  of  about  the  size  of  a  common  cherry, 
and  so  tart  that  if  cooked  without  sugar  it  sets  one's  teeth 
on  edge.  It  always  makes  its  appearance  upon  our  tables 
at  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas,  being  used  as  a  sauce 
with  roast  turkey  or  chicken.  I  refer  to  the  cranberry,  of 
which  we  produce  about  a  million  bushels  a  year,  shipping 
them  to  all  parts  of  our  country. 

The  cranberry  is  a  native  of  the  United  States  and  of 
Europe,  but  some  of  our  varieties  are  larger  and  better 
than  those  of  the  Old  World.  They  are  found  in  the  low 
boggy  lands  along  the  Atlantic  Coast  from  Maine  to  New 


258 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


Jersey,  in  parts  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  also  in 
the  swamps  of  Michigan,  Minnesota,  and  Wisconsin. 

Cranberries  grow  wild  in  some  places,  and  in  others 
upon  cultivated  vines.  More  than  half  of  our  crop  is  now 
raised  in  Massachusetts,  and  about  one  fourth  of  it  in  New 
Jersey.     Indeed,  Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  and  Wiscon- 


ifi 

9nHBfl| 

-  w 

i 

Gathering  cranberries. 

sin  grow  more  than  ninety  per  cent  of  these  berries,  a  com- 
paratively small  area  being  devoted  to  the  industry.  The 
reason  for  this  is  the  peculiar  conditions  necessary  to  cran- 
berry culture.  I  venture  to  say  that  none  of  us  has  ever 
seen  any  other  farm  so  odd  as  a  cranberry  farm.  The  land 
chosen  must  be  low  and  boggy  and  so  situated  that  the 
vines  may  be  flooded  at  certain  times  of  the  year.     The 


ORANGES,  LEMONS,  LIMES,  POMELOS,  CITRON,  ETC.       259 

soil  must  first  be  cleaned  of  bushes  and  other  vegetation 
and  then  covered  with  a  layer  of  sand,  to  keep  the  earth 
beneath  damp  and  cool  and  to  prevent  other  things  from 
growing. 

The  plants  are  raised  both  from  seeds  and  from  cuttings, 
the  sprouts  being  set  out  in  rows,  about  fourteen  inches 
apart.  After  planting,  the  grass  and  weeds  must  be  kept 
down  and  the  beds  flooded  from  time  to  time.  As  the 
vines  grow,  they  spread  and  run  over  the  ground  some- 
what like  strawberry  vines.  When  they  are  about  three 
years  of  age  they  begin  to  produce  fruit. 

The  cranberry  blossoms  appear  in  the  early  summer,  and 
the  berries  are  ripe  in  the  fall.  They  are  gathered  by  hand 
or  by  little  rake  scoops  and  are  cleaned  and  sorted  and 
then  packed  in  barrels  and  crates  for  the  market.  The 
chief  distributing  points  are  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Boston,  Baltimore,  and  Chicago.  The  berries  will  keep 
for  some  weeks,  and  in  the  late  fall  they  may  be  found  on 
sale  in  almost  every  grocery  store. 

35.    ORANGES,  LEMONS,  LIMES,  POMELOS, 
CITRON,    ETC. 

WE  are  again  in  California  this  morning,  although  in 
different  surroundings  from  where  we  saw  grapes 
made  into  raisins.  We  are  traveling  through  orchards  of 
beautiful  trees,  whose  green  leaves  shine  as  though  var- 
nished. In  some  orchards  golden  balls  are  peeping,  like 
eyes,  out  of  the  leaves,  and  in  others  the  trees  are  loaded 
with  oval  fruit  of  pale  yellow  or  green.     We  are  in  the 


26o 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


great  citrus  fruit  region  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  where  oranges 
and  lemons  enough  to  fill  millions  of  boxes  are  raised  every 
year. 

Citrus  fruits  are  different  from  .  any  of  the  fruits  we 
have  yet  examined,  but  they    are,  nevertheless,  amongst 

the  most  delicious  that  come  on 
our  tables.  What  is  finer  than  a 
great  round  yellow  orange  full 
of  juice,  or  a  pomelo  ("grape 
fruit")  sliced  in  half  and  pow- 
dered with  sugar  ?  On  a  hot 
day  there  is  nothing  so  cooling 
as  a  glass  of  iced  lemonade;  and 
we  all  delight  in  the  fruit  cake 
and  the  plum  pudding,  the  flavor 
of  which  is  due  largely  to  the 
citron  within.  Citrus  fruits  belong 
to  a  family  from  southern  Asia 
which  includes  oranges,  lemons, 
and  limes,  and  also  pomelos,  citrons,  and  the  bergamot 
used  for  perfumery.  All  these  have  a  pulp  with  a  sour, 
sweet,  or  bitter  juice,  a  spongy  or  leathery  rind,  and  smooth 
seeds.  The  leaves  and  the  rind  are  full  of  oil,  and  the 
flowers  also  contain  oil  and  have  a  peculiar  fragrance. 

Many  of  these  fruits  grow  wild  in  India  and  in  other 
warm  parts  of  Asia;  some  of  them  have  spines  or  thorns; 
and  some  have  become  very  different  through  cultivation 
from  what  they  originally  were.  It  is  said  that  the  orange 
was  once  a  berry,  about  as  big  as  a  marble,  bitter,  and  full 
of  seeds,  and  that  it  has  been  brought  to  its  present  size  and 
flavor  by  cultivation  and  experiment  throughout  the  ages. 


Oranges. 


ORANGES,  LEMONS,  LIMES,  POMELOS,  CITRON,  ETC.       26 1 

Some  people  think  that  the  apple  of  the  Garden  of  Eden 
was  really  an  orange ;  and  there  is  a  kind  of  a  pomelo  sold 
in  Europe  which  is  called  the  forbidden  fruit.  Ceylon  also 
has  a  pulpy  forbidden  fruit  which  looks  as  though  a  bite 
had  been  taken  out  of  it;  and  the  natives  say  it  was 
originally  round  and  good  to  eat,  but  since  Eve  sinned  it 
has  always  showed  the  mark  of  her  bite  and  has  been 
poisonous. 

The  chief  citrus  fruits  grown  in  the  United  States  are 
oranges,  lemons,  limes,  and  pomelos  or  grape  fruit.  They 
require  about  the  same  climate  and  soil,  and  are  found  in 
the  tropics  and  the  warmer  parts  of  the  temperate  zones, 
all  over  the  world.  Oranges  and  lemons  are  largely  culti- 
vated in  Portugal,  Spain,  Sicily,  and  other  countries  in  and 
about  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Asia  Minor  has  delicious 
oranges,  and  those  from  Jaffa,  the  chief  port  of  Palestine, 
are  excellent.  Oranges  thrive  in  Porto  Rico  and  in 
others  of  the  West  Indies,  in  Hawaii  and  in  the  Philippine 
Islands;  and  there  are  great  quantities  of  them  grown  in 
Brazil,  Paraguay,  and  some  other  South  American  coun- 
tries. They  are  produced  in  China  and  Japan  and  through- 
out southern  Asia,  as  well  as  in  north  and  south  Africa, 
and  on  almost  all  the  islands  of  the  South  Seas.  Our 
chief  orange-growing  regions  are  in  Florida  and  California, 
the  latter  state  producing  the  larger  part  of  our  crop.  The 
same  is  true  of  our  lemons  and  pomelos,  so  that  we  can 
learn  more  about  these  fruits  in  California  than  anywhere 
else. 

Suppose  we  take  a  look  at  a  great  orange  orchard,  now 
ready  for  harvest.  Here  is  one  where  they  are  picking  the 
crop.     They  have  brought  wagon  loads  of  boxes  and  scat- 


262 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


tered  them  about  under  the  trees.  There  are  a  score  of 
pickers  at  work.  Each  has  a  sack  fastened  by  a  strap  over 
his  shoulders,  into  which  he  puts  the  ripe  oranges,  as  he 
cuts  them  from  the  trees.  He  does  not  pull  them  off  as 
we  do  apples,  peaches,  and  pears ;  for  the  wound  that 
would  be  thus  left  in  the  fruit  would  be  liable  to  cause  rot. 
Notice  how   carefully   the    men    work.      They   drop  the 


Picking  oranges  in  California. 


oranges  into  the  sack  so  gently  that  they  are  not  bruised; 
and  they  empty  the  sacks  slowly  into  the  boxes. 

When  the  boxes  are  filled  they  are  carried  in  spring 
wagons  to  the  packing  houses.  There  is  a  load  going  out 
now,  and  if  we  follow  it  we  can  see  how  the  fruit  is  pre- 
pared for  the  market.  We  soon  reach  the  packing  estab- 
lishment, a  long  low  shed,  in  and  about  which  many  men 
and  women,  as  well  as  boys  and  girls,  are^at  work.     The 


ORANGES,  LEMONS,  LIMES,  POMELOS,  CITRON,  ETC.       263 

fruit  first  goes  into  the  hands  of  the  washers.  Every 
orange  must  be  well  scrubbed  before  it  is  packed.  In 
some  places  this  work  is  done  by  boys  and  girls  who 
scour  the  fruit  with  rough  brushes  to  get  the  dirt,  dust,  and 
mold  off;  and  in  other  places  it  is  done  by  machinery  which 
brushes  the  fruit  as  it  rolls  along  in  a  stream  of  water. 

After  washing,  the  oranges  are  put  into  a  trough,  down 
which  they  roll  into  grading  machines  which  separate  them 
according  to  size.  They  are  next  carried  into  the  shed  to 
be  packed.  In  the  establishment  we  are  visiting  this  work 
is  done  by  Chinese,  although  in  many  other  places  it  is 
performed  by  Americans.  The  Chinese  have  long  slender 
fingers  and  are  noted  for  their  skill  in  handling  fruit  of 
all  kinds.  They  take  up  each  orange,  wrap  it  in  a  piece 
of  tissue  paper,  upon  which  is  printed  the  trade-mark  of 
the  shipper,  and  then  lay  it  carefully  in  a  box.  Each  box 
is  just  two  feet  long,  one  foot  wide,  and  one  foot  deep. 
The  oranges  packed  in  one  box  are  of  about  the  same  size; 
and  the  boxes  contain  a  larger  or  smaller  number  of  oranges, 
according  to  the  grade  of  the  fruit.  Some  of  the  fruit  is  so 
large  that  sixty  oranges  will  just  fill  a  box,  and  some  so 
small  that  three  hundred  are  required  to  occupy  the  same 
space.  The  oranges  are  so  fitted  in  that  they  rise  a  little 
above  the  sides  of  the  box ;  and  the  covers  are  pressed 
down  into  place  so  carefully  that  the  fruit  is  squeezed 
close  together,  but  is  not  injured. 

After  this  the  boxes  are  nailed  up  and  loaded  upon  the 
cars  for  their  long  journey  over  the  Rocky  Mountain  pla- 
teau to  the  markets.  The  cars  are  well  ventilated,  the 
boxes  being  so  arranged  that  the  air  can  circulate  freely 
among  them  ;  and,  if  it  is  warm,  iced  cars  are  used. 


264  FOODS:    OR    HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

Oranges  are  sent  from  Florida  to  the  north  in  much  the 
same  way.  The  Florida  fruit  is  delicious,  and  it  is  con- 
sumed in  large  quantities  in  the  eastern  part  of  our  coun- 
try. We  also  import  many  oranges  from  the  West  Indies 
and  from  the  lands  in  and  about  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 
The  fruit  keeps  well,  and  it  is  often  several  weeks  between 
the  time  of  picking  and  eating. 

During  our  stay  the  manager  chats  with  us  about 
orange  raising.  He  tells  us  his  trees  originally  came  from 
the  seeds  of  the  hardier  varieties,  which  are  sown  in  nurs- 
eries, and  that  they  are  budded  for  choice  fruit  before 
planting.  About  two  years  after  budding,  they  are  ready 
for  setting  out  and  are  then  planted  about  twenty  feet 
apart  in  the  orchards.  After  this  they  must  be  well  culti- 
vated and  kep£  clean  of  weeds.  Many  of  the  orchards  are 
irrigated,  a  basin  about  ten  feet  square  being  dug  about 
each  tree,  into  which,  from  time  to  time,  the  water  is 
turned. 

An  orange  tree  begins  to  bear  at  four  years  of  age, 
and  if  properly  trimmed  and  cared  for,  it  will  produce 
five  hundred  or  more  oranges  every  year  for  a  generation 
or  so.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  there  are  orange  trees  sev- 
eral hundred  years  old  which  are  still  yielding  fruit. 

Oranges  are  of  many  varieties.  In  some  the  skin  is 
tight  to  the  pulp  and  in  others,  such  as  the  mandarin  and 
the  tangerine,  it  is  so  loose  that  it  may  be  pulled  off  like 
a  glove,  such  kinds  being  called  kid  glove  oranges.  Some 
oranges  are  full  of  seeds,  and  others  have  no  seeds  what- 
ever. The  navel  orange  is  a  seedless  orange.  It  was 
first  brought  to  the  United  States  from  Bahia,  Brazil,  in 
the  shape  of  a  cutting,  and  planted   in  our  Agricultural 


ORANGES,  LEMONS,  LIMES,  POMELOS,  CITRON,  ETC.       265 

Gardens  in  Washington.  In  due  time  the  cutting  became 
a  tree  and  produced  such  delicious  fruit  that  buds  from  it 
were  sent  to  California  ;  and  thereby  originated  the  navel 
orange  industry,  which  now  forms  one  of  the  most  prosper- 
ous branches  of  our  citrus  fruit  business. 

Our  next  few  days  are  spent  in  wandering  about  from 
one  lemon  grove  to  another.     Lemon  trees  are  not  quite 


r 

4       L 

1  £  « 

i 

m 

$  • 

1 

|,,. 

Mm*  m 

B/^J^I 

i    V*1 

pjj 

1 

s^f^ 

Lemon  pickers  in  California. 


so  high  as  orange  trees,  but  they  look  much  the  same. 
Their  blossoms  are  purplish  on  the  outside,  and  they  smell 
less  sweet  than  those  of  the  orange.  The  fruit  is  light 
yellow ;  and  the  green  lemons  fairly  set  our  teeth  on  edge, 
as  we  taste  them. 

Lemon  trees  are  grown  from  lemon  buds,  set  into  seed- 
ling sour-orange  sprouts.     The  trees  are  planted  like  the 


266 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


orange,  and  the  fruit  is  gathered  in  about  the  same  way, 
save  that  each  picker  has  a  steel  ring  about  two  and  one- 
fourth  inches  wide.  He  passes  this  ring  over  each  lemon 
before  cutting  its  stem,  in  order  to  get  just  the  right  size 
demanded  by  the  market.  People  do  not  want  large 
lemons,  and  the  kinds  most  desired  are  of  such  a  size  that 
it  takes  from  three  hundred  and  sixty  to  four  hundred  and 


Grading  lemons. 

twenty  of  them  to  fill  a  box.  If  the  lemons  fit  the  ring 
they  are  picked,  no  matter  whether  they  are  green  or 
ripe,  although  all  the  ripe  ones  are  picked  anyway.  The 
ripe  lemons  are  sometimes  shipped  at  once  to  the  market, 
while  the  green  ones  are  piled  away  in  boxes  in  the  ware- 
houses to  ripen.  It  usually  requires  one  or  two  months  to 
fit  a  lemon  for  the  market. 

Lemons,  like  oranges,  have  to  be  washed.     They  must 
be  carefully  packed.     When  loaded,  long  strips  of  wood 


PINEAPPLES  AND   BANANAS  267 

are  nailed  across  the  cars  in  order  that  the  boxes  may  not 
be  jarred  on  their  way  over  the  continent.  Lemons  usually 
ripen  in  winter,  but  the  demand  for  them  in  our  country 
is  not  great  until  summer,  so  they  are  often  held  until  then. 

The  lime  might  be  called  the  lemon's  sour  little  sister. 
It  grows  wild  in  Malaysia  and  India  ;  and  the  trees  are  so 
thorny  that  they  are  sometimes  used  as  a  hedge.  Limes 
are  cultivated  in  the  West  Indies,  and  also  to  some  extent 
in  Florida.  The  fruit  has  a  thin  skin  and  a  light  yellow 
pulp,  full  of  an  acid  juice,  from  which  is  made  a  delicious 
drink  similar  to  lemonade. 

The  pomelo  or  grape-fruit  tree  looks  much  like  an 
orange  tree,  and  it  is  grown  and  marketed  in  about  the 
same  way.  Its  fruit  is  several  times  as  large  as  the 
largest  orange.  It  is  of  a  light  yellow  color  and  it  con- 
tains a  pulp  which  is  somewhat  acid  and  which,  at  the 
same  time,  has  a  bitter  taste  which  many  people  like.  It 
is  largely  used  throughout  our  country  and  elsewhere  as 
a  breakfast  fruit,  and  also  for  dessert.  It  is  grown  in 
Florida  and  California. 


>XKc 


36.    PINEAPPLES   AND    BANANAS 

TO-DAY  we  shall  consider  two  fruits  of  warm  climates 
which  are  not  found  on  bushes  or  trees.  They  re- 
semble vegetables  in  that  one  grows  on  a  stalk  in  a  way 
not  unlike  a  cabbage,  and  the  other  grows  in  great  bunches 
on  a  plant  which  shoots  up  to  a  height  of  fifteen  or  more 
feet.  Nevertheless,  the  first  of  these  fruits  is  one  of  the 
most  delicious,  and   the  second  one   of   the  most  useful, 


268  FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 

known  to  mankind.  One  is  the  pineapple  and  the  other 
the  banana. 

The  pineapple  is  a  native  of  tropical  America.  It  was 
taken  to  Europe  by  the  Spaniards,  and,  as  early  as  the 
seventeenth  century,  was  cultivated  in  Holland  and  in 
England.  It  had  to  be  grown  in  glass  houses,  however, 
and  was  too  costly  to  be  eaten  by  any  but  the  nobles  and 
other  rich  people.  To-day  pineapples  are  found  in  nearly 
all  the  markets  of  this  country  and  Europe.  They  are 
raised  in  the  West  Indies  and  in  the  Bahamas  for  export 
to  the  United  States,  and  are  sent  from  our  Hawaiian  Is- 
lands to  San  Francisco.  We  also  raise  some  in  Florida 
and  California.  The  pineapples  of  Europe  come  chiefly 
from  the  Azores,  the  West  Indies,  and  parts  of  North 
Africa ;  while  the  Australian  markets  are  supplied  by 
those  parts  of  Queensland  which  lie  near  the  Equator. 

Pineapples  will  not  grow  except  in  warm  climates.  They 
are  a  tropical  and  subtropical  fruit,  which  Jack  Frost  kills 
when  it  comes  within  his  reach.  Our  Florida  pineapple 
plantations  are  in  the  southern  part  of  that  state;  and 
even  there,  the  pineapples  are  often  grown  under  sheds  to 
guard  them  from  the  cold.  In  Porto  Rico  and  Hawaii 
they  are  raised  out  of  doors,  as  they  are  in  most  other  trop- 
ical countries. 

Suppose  we  go  to  Cuba  and  visit  a  great  pineapple 
plantation.  It  is  only  a  few  hours'  ride  from  Florida 
across  to  Havana,  where  we  can  get  a  railroad  which  will 
take  us  right  to  the  pineapple  fields.  The  farm  we  select 
belongs  to  an  American,  who  ships  his  fruit  to  New  York, 
Tampa,  and  New  Orleans,  whence  it  is  sent  to  our  interior 
cities. 


PINEAPPLES  AND   BANANAS  269 

Stand  with  me  in  the  midst  of  the  plantation.  We  are 
surrounded  by  hundreds  of  acres  of  plants.  They  stretch 
out  on  all  sides  of  us  almost  as  far  as  our  eyes  can  reach, 
forming  a  carpet  of  reddish  bronze,  made  up  of  millions 
of  plants  bearing  ripe  fruit.  Close  to  us  the  pineapples 
are  distinct,  and  we  can  see  the  great  red  and  yellow  fruit, 


A  pineapple  plantation  in  Cuba. 

each  surrounded  by  its  long  green  cactus-like  leaves, 
tipped  with  crimson.  Farther  away  the  pineapples  and 
leaves  seem  blended  together ;  and  the  whole  field,  in  the 
distance,  looks  like  a  gorgeous  cloth  more  splendid  than 
the  dress  of  any  queen,  reaching  on  and  out  on  every  side. 
The  pineapples  are  in  rows,  but  they  are  set  so  close 
together  that  it  is  safe  to  say  there    are  a  million  or  so 


270 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


growing  within  the  range  of  our  eyes.  That  long  low 
building  in  the  center  of  the  orchard  is  the  packing  shed. 
There  the  fruit  is  gathered  when  ripe  and  nailed  up  in 
crates,  which  go  by  the  railroad  to  the  steamers  loading 
for  the  United  States.  The  pineapples  are  planted  by 
setting  out  the  slips,  or  suckers,  which    grow  about  the 


Packing  pineapples  for  shipment. 

base  or  the  bunch  of  leaves  at  the  top  of  the  fruit.  They 
are  carefully  cultivated  until  they  begin  to  bear  and  for 
some  time  thereafter ;  although  a  plantation  will  last  sev- 
eral years  without  replanting.  The  fruit  is  picked  green, 
and  ripens  on  its  way  to  the  market.  Ordinary  pineapples 
are  four  or  five  inches  thick  and  from  six  to  ten  inches  long ; 
but  the  larger  specimens  often  weigh  as  much  as  fifteen, 
and  sometimes  twenty,  and  even  more,  pounds  apiece. 


PINEAPPLES   AND   BANANAS  27 1 

Leaving  our  pineapple  plantation,  we  cross  Cuba  to  the 
northeastern  coast  about  Nipe  Bay.  Here  are  some  of 
the  largest  banana  plantations  of  the  world.  There  are 
millions  of  plants,  covering  thousands  of  acres,  and  when 
the  fruit  is  ripe,  great  ships  loaded  with  it  are  dispatched 
regularly  to  New  York. 

In  the  distance,  the  bananas  make  us  think  of  fields  of 
green  corn  rising  and  falling  in  the  wind,  but  as  we  come 
closer  we  see  that  each  stalk  is  a  great  plant  with  a 
green  trunk,  almost  a  foot  thick  at  the  bottom  and  rising 
upward  eight  or  ten  feet,  before  the  wide  leaves,  some  of 
which  are  ten  feet  long,  extend  out  like  palm  leaves  and 
bend  over.  Some  of  the  plants  have  suckers,  like  corn 
suckers,  springing  out  of  the  ground  at  their  roots,  and 
often  two  or  three  plants  are  growing  together.  The  rows 
are  not  more  than  six  feet  apart  ;  and  walking  through 
the  plantation  is  like  making  our  way  through  a  forest  of 
green  trunks  upholding  these  wide  green  leaves  which 
meet  overhead  and  shut  out  the  sun. 

There  is  a  banana  plant  in  blossom.  I  venture  to  say 
none  of  us  has  ever  seen  such  a  blossom  before.  It  looks 
more  like  a  great  bud  than  a  flower.  It  is  six  inches  long 
and,  at  its  base,  as  big  around  as  my  arm.  Just  back  of  it, 
sprouting  out  from  the  place  where  the  leaves  join  the 
trunk,  is  a  great  bunch  of  bananas,  the  blossom  ending 
the  bunch.  The  stem  of  the  bunch  hangs  down,  and 
the  bananas  themselves  grow  upward,  and  not  downward, 
as  many  suppose.  Let  us  stop  and  count  the  bananas  on 
that  bunch.  It  has  seventy-four.  On  a  larger  plant  farther 
over  is  a  bunch  containing  more  than  a  hundred,  while  on 
other  plants  are  smaller  bunches  having  fifty  or  less. 


272 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


This  plantation  is  three  years  of  age.  It  was  set  out 
from  suckers  like  those  we  see  at  the  roots,  and  it  has  been 
well  cultivated  until  now.  There  are  no  weeds  anywhere, 
and  the  plants  are  kept  free  from  grass.     Each  plant  bears 


WBp^  -4 

mm' 

& 

J 

mi         \ 

KflU»j_A\m«l 

* 

*• 

^ 

The  bananas  grow  upward. 


but  one  bunch  and  then  dies,  but  the  sprouts  at  the  base 
grow  up  year  after  year,  so  that  a  plantation  lasts  a  long 
time. 

In  harvesting  bananas  the  plant  is  chopped  almost  in 
half.  As  it  falls,  it  is  caught  and  the  bunch  of  bananas  is 
cut  off ;  after  which  the  plant  is  chopped  down  to  allow  the 
sprouts  at  the  foot  to  secure  the  full  strength  of  the  roots. 

As  we  go  onward,  we  come  to  a  place  where  the  men 
are  gathering  the  fruit.     The  bunches  are  cut  while  the 


PINEAPPLES   AND   BANANAS 


273 


fruit  is  still  green.  There  is  not  a  ripe  or  yellow  banana 
among  them.  A  little  later  we  watch  the  loading  of  a 
steamer,  and  are  told  that  the  fruit  will  be  still  green  when 
taken  off  in  New  York,  and  that  it  will  not  turn  yellow 
until  about  the  time  it  reaches  the  market  stands. 
Bananas  will  keep  easily 
for  ten  or  twelve  days, 
and  they  are  cut  green 
in  order  that  they  may 
stand  the  journey  to  all 
parts  of  our  country. 

The  banana,  as  used  by 
us,  is  a  luxury.  In  many 
parts  of  the  world  it  forms 
the  principal  food.  It  is 
eaten  in  all  tropical  coun- 
tries, and  some  savage 
and  semicivilized  people 
have,  at  times,  little  else. 
This  is  so  in  nearly  all 
the  equatorial  islands,  in 
the  Dutch  East  Indies, 
Malaysia,  and  in  many 
parts  of  equatorial  Africa. 

The  banana  gives  the  native  of  central  Africa  not  only 
his  food  and  drink,  but  his  string,  soap,  and  clothing.  He 
eats  the  green  fruit  of  the  plantain,  which  is  closely  allied 
to  the  banana,  cooked  as  a  vegetable,  and  when  ripe  it 
serves  as  a  dessert.  With  him  bananas  largely  take  the 
place  of  wheat  and  corn,  for  he  steams  them  and  makes 
them  up  into  flour.     He  uses  banana  leaves  to  thatch  his 

FOODS —  l8 


Brazilian  banana  peddler. 


274  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

house,  and  makes  them  answer  the  purposes  of  paper, 
tablecloths,  and  napkins.  The  stems  are  sometimes  made 
into  fences,  and  the  pith  is  scraped  out  and  used  as  a 
sponge.  The  fibers  form  excellent  string,  and  they  are 
also  woven  into  sun  hats  and  shields. 

In  some  parts  of  the  world  savages  make  an  intoxicat- 
ing drink  from  the  banana  which  might  be  called  banana 
brandy,  and  also  another  liquor  somewhat  like  beer.  There 
are  other  drinks  made  from  this  fruit  which  are  not  intoxi- 
cating at  all.  Not  only  in  Africa,  but  in  parts  of  the  West 
Indies  and  elsewhere,  if  the  banana  crop  is  good,  the  na- 
tives are  prosperous ;  and,  if  it  fails,  they  are  likely  to 
suffer  from  want. 

37.    OLIVES   AND   VEGETABLE   OILS 

IN  ancient  times  there  was  a  contest  between  Minerva, 
the  Goddess  of  Wisdom,  and  Neptune,  the  God  of  the 
Sea,  as  to  which  should  have  the  Greek  city  of  Athens 
under  his  protection.  The  other  gods  came  together  and 
decided  that  this  right  should  be  given  to  the  one  who 
could  offer  the  gift  most  useful  to  man.  Thereupon  Nep- 
tune brought  forth  the  horse,  and  Minerva,  the  olive  tree. 
The  gods  gave  their  judgment  that  the  olive  was  the  more 
useful,  and  Athens  was  awarded  to  Minerva,  who  sometimes 
goes  by  the  name  of  Pallas  Athene. 

The  olive  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  fruits.  The  dove 
which  Noah  sent  forth  from  the  ark  when  the  floods  were 
abating  came  back  with  an  olive  leaf  in  its  mouth ;  and 
we  read  of  olives  being  used  in  early  times  in  the  countries 


OLIVES   AND   VEGETABLE  OILS  275 

about  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  It  is  said  that  they  came 
originally  from  southern  Europe  and  Asia  Minor.  The 
Atlas  regions  of  northern  Africa  seem  to  be  peculiarly  fitted 
for  them,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
great  central  valley  of  California  and  of  certain  regions  in 
Mexico  and  Peru.  Italy  raises  more  olives  than  any  other 
country,  and  they  are  also  grown  for  export  in  Algeria  and 
Tunis,  and  in  France,  Spain,  Greece,  and  Asia  Minor. 
We  still  import  olives  and  olive  oil  from  Italy  and  Spain, 
although  we  now  have  large  olive  orchards  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  and  are  raising  quantities  of  olives  every  year. 

Suppose  we  visit  one  of  these  orchards  in  southern 
California.  The  trees  are  loaded  with  fruit  that  looks  some- 
what like  plums,  but  the  leaves  are  of  a  darker  green  than 
the  plum  tree,  and  the  trunks  and  branches  are  twisted  in 
all  sorts  of  shapes,  looking  as  thougli  they  had  been  made 
so  by  the  wind. 

Olive  trees  are  planted  from  cuttings,  sprouts,  or  from  the 
gnarled  woody  bulbs  on  the  base  of  the  trunk.  They  are 
set  out  in  orchards,  about  thirty  or  forty  feet  apart,  and 
begin  to  bear  fruit  at  two  or  three  years  of  age,  although 
it  is  not  until  they  are  seven  years  old  that  they  yield  profit- 
able crops.  They  bear  more  fruit  as  they  grow  older, 
until  they  are  about  thirty  years  old.  At  ten  years  of  age 
a  good  tree  may  have  six  or  seven  gallons  of  olives  upon  it, 
and  later  it  may  produce  as  much  as  fifty  gallons. 

The  olive  is  very  long  lived.  There  are  some  trees  in 
California  which  were  planted  before  we  signed  our  Declara- 
tion of  Independence ;  and  in  southern  Europe  are  many 
which  are  known  to  be  several  hundred  years  old.  The 
people  there  claim  that  the  olive  tree  will  live  a  thousand 


276  FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

years,  and  they  have  a  saying  that  the  man  who  plants  olives 
lays  up  riches  for  his  children's  children. 

In  California  the  olive  orchards  are  carefully  cultivated. 
The  one  we  are  visiting  is  about  twenty  years  old  ;  but  it 
is  still  plowed  several  times  a  year  and  is  kept  free  from 
weeds.      The  trees  are   now   loaded  with  fruit,  and   the 


Picking  olives  in  California. 

people  are  harvesting  the  crop.  A  number  of  men  and 
women,  together  with  many  boys  and  girls,  are  moving 
about  under  the  trees.  Some  hold  out  sheets  of  canvas, 
while  others  shake  each  limb  and  twig,  so  that  the  olives 
fall  into  the  sheets.  The  fruit  that  remains  on  the  trees  is 
plucked  by  hand. 

After  picking,  the  olives  are  sorted.     Some  of  them  are 


OLIVES   AND   VEGETABLE  OILS 


277 


almost  black,  while  others  are  light  brown  or  dark  green. 
The  black  olives  are  ripe  and  ready  to  be  pressed  into  oil. 
The  green  ones  will  be  used  for  pickling ;  they  will  be 
graded,  and  those  of  the  same  size  will  be  put  up  in  bot- 
tles or  tubs  and  sold  all  over  the  country.  Ripe  olives  are 
also  pickled,  but  they  are  black  when  bottled. 

Suppose  we  follow  that  load  of  ripe  fruit  which  they  are 
taking  off  to  the  oil  mill.     We  go  with  the  wagon  and  see 


Grading  olives  according  to  size. 


the  black  olives  thrown  into  a  sort  of  mortar,  in  which 
is  a  heavy  stone,  so  moved  around  by  a  gas  engine  that  it 
crushes  the  olives  to  paste.  After  being  thoroughly  crushed, 
they  are  taken  out  and  packed  by  hand  into  flat  bags  made 
of  matting,  each  of  which  holds  about  a  half  bushel. 
These  mats  are  piled,  one  on  top  of  the  other,  in  a  press 
which  works  so  gradually  that  they  must  remain  in  it  for 
several  hours  before  all  the  juice,  water,  and  oil  are  squeezed 


278  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

out.  The  oil  which  comes  first  is  the  best.  It  is  almost 
clear  white.  It  is  called  virgin  oil  and  is  used  chiefly  for 
salads.  That  which  comes  later  is  of  a  lower  grade,  and 
the  last  is  the  poorest. 

In  some  orchards  the  fruit  is  dried  in  the  sun  or  by  arti- 
ficial heat  before  it  is  pressed,  and  the  pulp  is  pressed  again 
and  again  for  the  different  grades  of  oil.  Before  the  last 
pressing  it  is  soaked  with  hot  water,  and  the  result  is  a  low 
grade  oil,  used  for  the  table  and  also  for  machinery  and 
burning. 

After  the  oil  has  been  taken  out  of  the  pulp,  it  is  drawn 
off  carefully,  filtered,  and  stored  in  a  cool  dark  place 
ready  for  bottling.  If  exposed  to  light  or  heat,  it  soon 
becomes  rancid,  and  the  greatest  care  is  taken  to  keep 
it  sweet  and  cool. 

We  use  olive  oil  for  salads  and  also  in  manufacturing 
soap  and  tobacco  and  for  mechanical  purposes.  We 
import  a  great  quantity  every  year,  in  addition  to  that 
which  we  raise  ourselves. 

In  southern  Europe  and  in  the  other  lands  about  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  olive  oil,  to  a  large  extent,  takes  the 
place  of  butter.  It  is  used  not  only  in  salads,  but  upon 
bread  and  vegetables  and  for  cooking.  In  some  locali- 
ties olives  and  olive  oil  serve  even  for  meat  and  bread ; 
and  many  a  Spaniard,  when  upon  a  long  journey,  ties  a 
wicker  basket  of  this  fruit  to  his  saddle  horn  and  eats 
it  as  he  rides. 

We  have  another  oil  much  like  olive  oil  which  is 
made  from  cotton-seed.  For  a  long  time  these  seeds 
went  to  waste,  but  now  they  are  ground  up  into  oil, 
and  the  refuse  therefrom   is   made  into   cattle  feed   and 


OLIVES   AND   VEGETABLE  OILS 


279 


fertilizer.  The  products  from  our  cotton-seed  now  yield 
annually  a  vast  sum.  In  the  year  1900  the  seeds  used 
weighed  several  million  tons,  and  they  produced  oil,  meal, 
and  other  things  valued  at  thirty-three  million  dollars. 

In  making  this  oil  the  lint  is  first  taken  off  and  sold 
as  raw  cotton,  and  the  seeds  are  then  sifted  and  cleaned. 
The  hulls  are  cracked 
by  machinery  and 
separated  from  the 
kernels.  The  meats 
are  then  run  through 
heavy  rolls  to  squeeze 
out  the  oil,  which  is 
drawn  off  into  settling 
tanks.  It  is  after- 
ward refined,  when  it 
looks  and  tastes  much 
like  olive  oil.  In 
some  cases  the  meats 
are  cooked  before 
they  are  crushed,  but 
the  best  oil  is  made 
when  they  are  pressed 
cold.  Cotton-seed  oil  is  used  largely  for  cooking,  and 
many  prefer  it  as  a  substitute  for  lard  or  butter.  It  is 
sometimes  employed  to  adulterate  olive  oil,  lard,  and  other 
things,  and  it  is  also  used  for  making  soap,  paint,  drugs, 
and  for  oiling  machinery,  and  for  lighting. 

The  Russians  raise  sunflowers  for  their  seeds.  These 
contain  a  rich  oil  that  is  used  largely  in  salads  and  in 
cooking,    and  also    for  lighting  and  for  making  candles 


a^VifcL* 

mm- 

' . .  -11 

1           '^fvt^m^T         \ 
fir         J^f\       >     *   7 

Sunflowers  in  Russia. 


280  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

and  soaps.  The  people  eat  the  seeds  as  we  do  peanuts, 
keeping  a  handful  or  so  in  their  pockets  and  nibbling 
away  at  them  from  time  to  time.  Each  sunflower  has 
from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  seeds,  and  these 
seeds  are  in  such  demand  for  various  purposes  that  about 
forty  million  pounds  of  them  are  raised  every  year.  The 
Russians  sow  the  seeds  in  the  fall  or  in  the  early  spring, 
drilling  them  in,  in  rows  about  eighteen  inches  apart,  and 
thinning  out  the  plants,  so  as  to  leave  a  space  of  a  foot  or 
so  between  them.  An  acre  of  sunflowers  should  yield 
about  fifty  bushels  of  seeds ;  and  these,  when  pressed, 
will  give  about  one  gallon  of  oil  per  bushel. 

The  Chinese  make  oil  from  certain  kinds  of  beans,  using 
the  refuse,  or  bean  cake,  as  food  for  both  man  and  animal 
and  also  as  fertilizer.  They  have,  moreover,  an  oil  which 
is  extensively  grown  in  their  own  and  in  other  countries 
and  which  is  largely  imported  by  us.  This  oil  could  hardly 
be  used  for  cooking,  although  it  is  of  great  value  when  one 
has  eaten  too  much.  It  is  castor  oil,  made  of  the  seed  of 
the  castor  oil  plant.  This  plant  is  a  native  of  India  but 
is  now  cultivated  in  most  warm  countries.  It  varies  in 
size  from  a  shrub  to  a  tree  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in 
height.  In  extracting  the  oil  the  seeds  are  first  crushed 
between  heavy  rollers  and  then  pressed  in  bags  under  a 
screw  press. 

There  are  a  few  other  vegetable  oils  which  are  used  for 
cooking  and  eating  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  but  none 
of  them  is  so  important  as  those  we  have  considered.  Val- 
uable oils  are  also  made  from  several  species  of  nuts,  such 
as  peanuts,  palm  nuts,  and  cocoanuts,  as  we  shall  learn 
farther  on  in  our  travels. 


DATES   AND    FIGS  28 1 


38.    DATES    AND    FIGS 

IS  it  not  strange  that  one  of  the  sweetest  of  fruits  should 
come  from  the  desert  ?  The  palm  that  bears  the  date 
thrives  in  the  midst  of  burning  sands,  if  its  roots  can  have 
plenty  of  moisture.  It  is  grown  by  irrigation  in  the  oases 
of  the  Sahara  Desert,  almost  everywhere  in  the  valley  of 
the  Nile,  in  the  fertile  spots  upon  the  Desert  of  Arabia, 
and  especially  along  the  Shat-el-Arab  River,  at  the  head 
of  the  Persian  Gulf. 

The  Shat-el-Arab  is  formed  by  the  union  of  the  Tigris  and 
the  Euphrates  at  Kurna;  and  it  flows  from  there  for  a  dis- 
tance of  seventy  miles  down  to  the  Gulf  of  Persia, 
through  some  of  the  richest  soil  and  one  of  the  hottest 
climates  of  the  world.  Here,  in  midsummer,  the  thermom- 
eter rises  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  degrees  in  the  shade, 
and  the  few  European  inhabitants  sleep  in  bedrooms 
cooled  by  fanning  mills  which  force  the  air  through  wet 
screens.  Even  the  natives  spend  the  hot  nights  on  the 
roofs  of  their  houses;  and  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  day 
most  people  stay  within  doors.  In  winter  the  climate  is 
as  delightful  as  that  of  southern  California.  It  seldom 
rains,  and  the  air  is  dry  and  clear  almost  all  the  year 
round. 

This  region  is  said  to  be  the  birthplace  of  the  date  palm. 
According  to  the  Arabs,  it  was  here  that  the  Garden  of 
Eden  was  situated.  It  is  only  a  few  hundred  miles  above 
here,  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  that  Babylon  was  situ- 
ated, and  a  like  distance  away,  upon  the  Tigris,  that  Bag- 
dad now  stands.     The  climate  here  is  exactly  suited  to  the 


282 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


date  palm,  and  the  Shat-el-Arab  Valley  is  believed  to  con- 
tain the  largest  continuous  orchard  of  the  world.  It  ranges 
from  less  than  a  mile  to  more  than  three  miles  in  width, 
and  has  more  than  five  million  date  trees  running  up  and 
down  both  sides  of  the  river. 

The  slope  of  the  valley  is  such  that  it  can  be  easily  irri- 
gated.    The   wide    muddy    Shat-el-Arab  carries  the  vast 

volume  of  the  Euphrates 
and  the  Tigris  Rivers; 
and  it  is  so  backed  up  at 
every  high  tide  that  it 
fills  the  irrigating  canals, 
inclosing  the  date  trees 
in  a  network  of  waters. 
At  such  times  the  larger 
canals  look  like  rivers 
running  through  a  forest 
of  palms;  and  the  smaller 
ones  form  silver  ropes, 
winding  their  way  in  and 
out  about  the  date  trees. 
The  water  is  full  of  silt, 
and  its  droppings  ferti- 
lize the  trees. 

There  are  date  orchards 
along  the  Tigris  and  the 
Euphrates  Rivers,  and  also  near  the  Gulf  of  Oman,  farther 
south ;  so  that  all  together  the  Persian  Gulf  regions  have 
more  date  palms  than  any  other  part  of  the  earth.  They 
have  fifteen  or  twenty  million  trees,  annually  yielding  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  fruit.    They  furnish 


In  a  Persian  date  orchard. 


DATES  AND   FIGS 


•283 


most  of  the  dates  sold  in  our  American  markets ;  although 
we  get  some  from  the  Sahara  and  from  Egjtpt,  and  are 
now  growing  a  few  ourselves  in  the  hot  dry  irrigated 
lands  of  Arizona  and  southern  California. 

The  date  palm  may  be  raised  from  the  seed,  but  it  is  usu- 
ally grown  from  suckers  which  sprout  out  about  the  trunks 
of  the  older  trees.  These  are  set  out  at  about  one  hundred 
to  the  acre,  and,  if  well  watered,  they  strike  root  at  once 
and,  within  four  or  five  years,  begin  to 
bear  fruit.  They  come  into  full  bearing  at 
eleven  or  more  years  of  age,  and  after 
that  they  may  yield  for  a  hundred  years. 
When  mature,  a  tree  should  produce 
eight  or  ten  bunches,  each  containing 
from  twelve  to  twenty  pounds  of  dates. 

In  the  Sahara  the  date  blossoms  in 
April.  The  flowers  are  perfectly  white, 
and  this  is  the  color  of  the  dates  when 
they  are  first  formed.  A  little  later 
they  turn  green,  and  toward  the  end 
of  the  summer  they  take  on  a  reddish  or 
a  yellowish  tinge,  a  sign  that  they  are  ripening.  They 
grow  redder  or  yellower  as  they  become  riper  ;  and,  when 
dead  ripe,  the  yellow  dates  are  the  color  of  amber,  and  the 
red  dates  have  turned  to  a  reddish  brown  or  black.  Green 
dates  are  not  fit  to  eat,  and  they  pucker  one's  mouth  like 
a  green  persimmon.  As  they  ripen,  this  taste  passes 
away,  they  gradually  sweeten,  and,  when  dead  ripe,  they 
are  almost  as  sweet  as  sugar  itself.  They  now  begin  to 
dry  on  the  trees  and  are  ready  to  be  gathered  and  shipped 
to  the  market. 


Date  flower. 


284  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

Dates  are  of  as  many  different  varieties  as  apples.  More 
than  one  hundred  kinds  of  dates  are  grown  in  the  Sahara 
and  a  great  number  in  the  Persian  Gulf  region.  Different 
markets  demand  different  dates.  Europe  and  America 
have  their  favorites,  while  India  and  the  Orient  prefer 
other  kinds.  Some  dates  will  stand  shipment  better  than 
others,  and  some  are  especially  delicious  when  fresh  from 
the  trees. 

The  dates  shipped  to  America  are  sweet  dates.  They 
are  allowed  to  dry  on  the  trees  for  a  week  or  so  after  they 
ripen.  This  shrinks  them,  and  they  can  then  be  shipped 
to  better  advantage.  They  are  of  a  soft  variety,  and  are 
full  of  juice,  which  must  be  drained  off  before  being  packed. 
They  are  brought  here  in  bags  of  matting  or  in  long 
wooden  boxes,  the  choicest  dates  often  being  repacked  at 
the  ports  before  they  are  shipped  to  New  York. 

The  favorite  date  of  the  natives  of  the  Sahara  contains 
much  less  sugar  than  that  sent  to  the  United  States.  It  is 
a  dry  date  which  is  almost  unknown  to  us,  but  which  largely 
takes  the  place  of  bread  in  that  wild  desert  region.  These 
dates  are  not  soft  or  sticky  when  ripe,  and  if  stored  in  dry 
places,  they  can  be  kept  a  longtime.  They  form  a  health- 
ful food  and  are  eaten  by  man  and  beast,  being  often  fed 
to  camels  and  even  to  dogs. 

The  date  palm  is  the  most  important  of  all  desert  palms. 
In  the  Sahara  Desert  its  fruit  often  takes  the  place  of 
both  bread  and  meat.  There  are  parts  of  Arabia  where 
the  people  live  almost  entirely  upon  dates  and  bread,  with 
an  occasional  feast  of  a  sheep,  goat,  or  chicken.  The 
sweet  dates  furnish  a  sirup  or  date  honey  and  the  juice  of 
the  green  dates  can  be  turned  into  vinegar.  „  The  Bedouins 


DATES   AND   FIGS 


285 


make  the  ripe  fruit  into  a  paste  which  hardens  so  that  it 
can  be  kept  for  a  long  time ;  and  dry  dates  are  sometimes 
pulverized  and  cooked  as  meal.  The  seeds  or  stones  are 
crushed  and  fed  to  camels,  goats,  sheep,  and  horses,  and 
there  is  an  edible  bud  at  the  crown  of  the  tree  which  is 
known  as  palm  cabbage  and  which,  when  the  tree  falls,  is 
eaten  as  a  vegetable. 

The  wood  of  this  palm  is  very  valuable  in  the  desert  lands 
where  it  grows.  It  is  used  for  fencing  and  for  house  build- 
ing. The  fibers  of  the  leaves  and  trunk  furnish  the  tow 
with  which  the  Arabs  stuff  their  saddles,  and  they  are  also 
used  for  rope  making. 
A  fine  thread  is  made 
from  the  stem  of  the 
fruit,  and  mats  and 
baskets  are  woven 
from  the  split  leaves. 

There  is  another 
fruit  which  can  be 
grown  in  much  the 
same  surroundings  as 
the  date,  but  which 
also  thrives  in  subtropical  regions  and  even  in  the  warmer 
parts  of  our  country.  This  is  the  fig,  which  is  supposed 
to  have  originated  in  Asia,  and  which  is  now  grown 
commercially  in  many  of  the  countries  about  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea. 

Fig  trees  are  found  in  most  of  our  Southern  States ;  and 
large  orchards  of  Smyrna  trees  have  been  planted  in  Cali- 
fornia and  are  yielding  several  million  pounds  of  figs  every 
year.     In  some  oases  of  the  Sahara  Desert  fig  trees  are 


Green  figs. 


286  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

raised  under  the  date  palms;  they  are  common  in  Algeria 
and  Morocco  ;  and  they  thrive  better,  perhaps,  in  Syria 
than  anywhere  else.  The  chief  port  from  which  they  are 
sent  to  the  United  States  is  Smyrna,  about  which  are 
large  orchards  producing  a  delicious  variety  of  this  fruit. 

Fig  trees  are  grown  from  seeds  or  from  cuttings  and  also 
by  budding.     They  are  set  out  sixteen  or  more  feet  apart 


'  ti  ?  *£**<?  f-™3 

K.dUtt;,::       M 

(JriBli~*  '^ iTm^Hf^1    ^  ^^ 

PAR 

^Bb?^/;' 

Packing  figs  in  California. 

in  the  orchard,  and  when  full-grown  are  tall,  with  wide 
branches  and  large  beautiful  leaves.  They  begin  to  yield 
fruit  at  three  years  of  age,  and  after  that  they  will  bear 
two  or  three  crops  every  year  for  a  century  or  longer. 
Figs  on  the  trees  look  plump,  and  in  shape  they  resemble 
a  small  tomato.  They  are  of  different  colors,  according 
to  the  variety,  some  being  white,  some  black,  some  purple, 
and  others  yellow  or  green.  The  purple  figs  are  the  best, 
although  the  yellow  ones  are  the  most  beautiful. 

Figs  are  gathered  when  they  are  dead  ripe  and  laid 


SOME  OTHER  TROPICAL  FRUITS  287 

upon  boards  in  the  sun  to  dry.  After  this  they  are  pressed 
into  shape,  one  by  one,  and  packed  up  in  boxes  to  be  sent 
to  the  markets. 

39.    SOME   OTHER   TROPICAL   FRUITS 

IN  addition  to  the  fruits  we  have  already  examined,  there 
are  many  others  which  are  eaten  here  and  there  over 
the  world,  but  have  no  important  part  in  commerce.  The 
mango,  for  instance,  might  be  called  the  apple  of  the 
tropics.  It  is  a  luscious  juicy,  fruit  of  about  the  size  of  a 
goose  egg,  or  larger,  and  of  much  the  same  shape.  It  grows 
well  in  the  East  Indies,  in  most  parts  of  the  Philippine 
Islands,  and  in  Central  and  South  America,  the  West  In- 
dies, and  elsewhere. 

The  guava,  from  which  the  famed  guava  jelly  is  made,  is 
a  yellow-skinned  fruit  about  as  big  around  as  a  silver  dol- 
lar. It  is  rather  sweet  and  of  a  light  red  color.  The 
guava  tree  looks  somewhat  like  a  plum  tree.  It  is  grown 
in  the  West  Indies,  as  well  as  in  Brazil,  Paraguay,  and  other 
tropical  parts  of  the  world. 

Many  of  the  fruits  of  the  warm  zones  are  of  enormous 
size.  The  breadfruit,  for  instance,  grows  almost  as  large 
as  a  football ;  it  is  round  or  oval  in  shape  and  contains 
a  fibrous  pulp  which  is  white  and  mealy,  looking  some- 
what like  new  bread.  It  is  eaten  before  it  is  ripe,  and  it 
forms  a  staple  article  of  food  among  the  natives  of  the 
South  Sea  and  the  East  Indian  Islands.  The  South  Sea 
Islanders  cook  breadfruit  in  ovens  made  in  the  earth. 
They  place  it  between  layers  of  heated  stones  and  green 


288 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


leaves  ;  first  a  layer  of  hot  stones,  then  leaves,  and  then 
breadfruit ;  then  more  stones,  more  leaves,  and  more  fruit, 
until  the  oven  is  full.  They  then  spread  earth  over  all. 
The  hot  stones  soon  create  a  steam  from  the  moisture  in 

the  leaves  and  the 
fruit,  and  within 
a  short  time  the 
breadfruit  is 
ready  to  eat. 

The  jackfruit 
is  of  the  same 
nature  as  the 
breadfruit,  but 
coarser,  and  two 
or  three  times  as 
large.  Another 
fruit  of  these 
same  regions  is 
the  durian,  which 
has  so  disgusting 
a  smell  that  many 
people  will  not 
taste  it.  Never- 
theless, it  is  de- 
licious, having  a  pulp  of  fine  flavor  that  is  not  unlike 
that  of  cream.  The  durian  is  about  as  large  as  a  good- 
sized  cocoanut ;  it  has  a  rind  covered  with  prickly  spines 
and  looks  like  a  little  hedgehog  rolled  up. 

How  would  you  like  to  pick  melons  from  trees  ?  You 
may  do  that  in  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  other  countries  of 
about  the  same  latitude.     The   papaya   tree    has  a  fruit 


Breadfruit  tree. 


SOME   OTHER  TROPICAL   FRUITS 


289 


which  tastes  and  looks  like  a  muskmelon.  It  has  soft 
sweet  yellow  flesh,  with  many  small  black  seeds,  and  is  so 
easily  digested  that  people  can  eat  it  when  they  can  eat 
nothing  else.  Indeed,  the  papaya  aids  the  stomach  in 
digesting  other  foods ;  and  it  is  said  that  tough  meat,  if 
dipped  in  water  containing 


a  little  papaya  juice,  will 
become  tender.  The  papaya 
tree  is  seldom  more  than 
twenty-five  feet  high,  and 
the  melonlike  fruit  grows 
on  stems  attached  to  the 
trunk  near  the  top. 

We  have  many  wild  per- 
simmons in  the  United 
States.  They  are  found  in 
great  quantities  in  Virginia  ; 
and  some  of  us  have  eaten 
them  when  dead  ripe  in  the 
fall,  after  the  first  hard  frost. 
They  are  no  larger  than 
plums,  and  they  are  by  no 
means  bad,  I  assure  you. 
Nevertheless,    they   do    not 


tyjb*&$l$t\ 


Papaya  tree. 


compare  with  the  persimmons  of  Japan,  China,  Korea,  and 
the  East  Indies.  These  are  as  big  as  good-sized  tomatoes 
and  are  of  about  the  same  color;  they  have  a  soft  sweet 
pulp  and  can  be  eaten  with  a  spoon. 

The  mangosteen  is  a  famous  delicacy  in  some  of  the 
warmest  parts  of  the  world.  It  is  a  native  of  the  Molucca 
Islands,  but  is  also  grown  in  Java,  Ceylon,  and  other  tropical 

FOODS —  19 


29O  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

countries.  This  fruit  is  shaped  like  a  small  orange ;  it  is 
of  a  dark  reddish  brown  color,  and  the  pulp  within  is 
white,  with  a  tinge  of  rose  pink.  It  has  a  fine  flavor  and 
is  one  of  the  choicest  fruits  of  the  tropics. 

The  pomegranate  is  a  native  of  southwestern  Asia,  and 
it  grows  also  in  other  parts  of  the  world  where  the  climate 
is  warm.  It  is  of  about  the  size  of  a  lemon  and  is  full  of 
seeds,  each  inclosed  in  a  pulp.  The  pulp  is  eaten  and 
is  used  also  for  making  a  drink. 

40.    NUTS 

WE  shall  go  nutting  to-day,  and  our  trip  will  take  us 
over  the  greater  part  of  the  globe.  Nuts  have  al- 
ways had  an  important  place  as  a  food  for  man.  They 
are  eaten  almost  everywhere.  They  are  gathered  by  the 
natives  of  the  forest  wilds  for  the  traders,  and  in  civilized 
countries  they  are  raised  in  orchards  and  exported  all 
over  the  world. 

Our  principal  commercial  food  nuts  are  almonds,  Eng- 
lish walnuts,  cocoanuts,  pecans,  Brazil  nuts,  hazelnuts, 
chestnuts,  and  hickory  nuts.  We  spend  several  million 
dollars  every  year  importing  them,  and  more  for  almonds 
and  English  walnuts  than  for  any  of  the  others. 

We  raise  some  almonds  in  California  ;  but,  nevertheless, 
we  buy  annually  almost  a  million  dollars'  worth  from 
Spain  and  from  other  countries  about  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  Almonds  are  of  two  kinds,  sweet  and  bitter.  The 
bitter  ones  are  used  to  make  flavoring  extracts  and  prussic 
acid  and  are  not  good  to  eat.    Sweet  almonds  are  used  for 


NUTS 


29I 


food  and  are  sold  everywhere  in  our  grocery  stores.  We 
eat  them  raw  and  cooked  and  also  in  cakes,  candies,  and 
other  confections.  Sugared  almonds  are  delicious,  and  so 
are  burnt  almonds  and  blanched  almonds,  when  salted. 
Almond  trees  resemble  peach  trees,  and  the  fruit  is 
much  like  the  peach,  save  that  it  has  a  thin  flesh,  the  nut 


Almond  trees  resemble  peach  trees. 


forming  the  stone.  When  the  almond  ripens,  the  skin 
breaks  open,  and,  as  the  flesh  shrivels  and  dries,  the  nut 
falls  to  the  ground.  In  gathering  the  crop,  men  and  boys 
go  through  the  orchards  and  pick  up  the  nuts ;  and  they 
sometimes  shake  them  off  upon  sheets  spread  under  the 
trees.  The  almonds  are  packed  in  sacks  or  bales  to  be 
shipped  to  the  markets. 

If  we  lived  in  certain  parts  of  California,  we  might  have 


292  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD    IS   FED 

a  two  weeks'  vacation  every  October,  in  order  to  help 
gather  English  walnuts.  These  nuts  are  now  grown  there 
in  large  quantities ;  and,  although  we  also  import  many 
from  France,  Spain,  and  Italy,  we  raise  some  of  the  best 
of  the  world.  Walnut  trees  are  set  out  in  rows  just  as 
apple  trees  are,  and  they  are  carefully  cultivated  until 
they  are  six  or  seven  years  old,  when  they  begin  to  bear. 
They  keep  on  bearing  more  and  more  nuts  every  year  for 
about  twenty  years,  and,  if  well  cared  for,  they  may  bear 
longer  than  the  lifetime  of  a  man. 

The  nuts  begin  to  ripen  about  the  middle  of  September, 
and  fall  from  that  time  on  until  the  last  of  November.  In 
the  height  of  the  season  all  the  boys  and  the  girls  of  the 
neighborhood,  as  well  as  such  men  and  women  as  can  be 
had,  go  over  the  great  orchards  again  and  again,  gathering 
the  nuts  into  pails,  cans,  or  sacks.  The  children  are  paid 
so  much  a  pound  for  all  they  pick  up,  and  a  boy  or  a  girl 
can  make  very  good  wages. 

After  the  walnuts  are  gathered,  they  are  taken  to  the 
drying  grounds  and  raked  over  in  order  that  the  hulls 
may  be  cleaned  off.  The  shells  are  now  brown,  and  they 
must  be  whitened  before  the  nuts  are  ready  for  sale. 
This  is  done  by  washing  them  in  water  mixed  with  cer- 
tain chemicals,  which  turns  them  to  the  color  of  the  nuts 
sold  in  our  stores.  Sometimes  bamboo  poles  are  used  to 
knock  the  nuts  from  the  trees  and  machines  to  take  off 
the  hulls. 

In  addition  to  the  English  walnut,  we  have  the  black 
walnut,  which  grows  wild  in  many  parts  of  the  United 
States,  and  also  the  white  walnut,  or  butternut,  which  is 
noted  for  its  delicious  sweet  kernel.      These  nuts,   how- 


NUTS  •  293 

ever,  are  used  chiefly  in  the  localities  where  they  are 
grown  and  are  seldom  exported.  The  same  is  true  of  our 
hickory  nuts,  which  we  gather  and  lay  away  to  crack  on 
winter  nights ;  and  also  of  acorns,  pignuts,  and  beechnuts, 
which  are  eaten  by  the  hogs,  as  they  roam  through  the 
woods. 

It  is  different  with  the  pecan,  which  belongs  to  the 
family  of  hickories.  It  grows  in  large  quantities  through- 
out our  Southern  States  and  is  cultivated  in  Texas  and  in 
many  parts  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  trees  are  set 
out  about  forty  feet  apart.  They  begin  to  bear  in  five  or 
six  years  and  produce  until  they  are  twenty  years  old,  when 
some  trees  will  yield  as  much  as  twenty  bushels  of  nuts  in 
one  year.  There  are  different  varieties  of  pecans  ;  some 
large  and  some  small,  and  some  with  shells  so  thin  that 
they  can  be  crushed  with  the  fingers. 

Most  of  our  chestnuts  are  small,  and  we  use  them  chiefly 
as  a  luxury,  eating  them  raw  or  roasted.  They  are  fre- 
quently sold  hot  from  the  ovens,  by  peddlers,  on  the  street 
corners  of  our  cities ;  and  are  sometimes  cooked  by  boys, 
in  corn  poppers,  over  the  coals.  In  southern  Europe  and 
in  Japan,  China,  and  Korea,  there  are  chestnuts  as  big  as 
buckeyes,  and  they  are  grown  extensively  for  food.  In 
southern  France  the  peasants  eat  these  nuts  twice  a  day 
during  the  fall  and  winter;  and  in  the  towns  there  are 
regular  chestnut  peddlers  who  carry  the  steamed  meats 
through  the  streets  and  sell  them  to  the  working  people 
for  breakfast.  In  some  parts  of  the  Alps  the  peasants 
grind  up  dried  chestnuts  and  make  flour  of  them ;  and  in 
Sicily  and  Italy  they  are  stewed,  roasted,  and  served  in 
other  ways. 


294  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

We  import  many  of  these  large  chestnuts  to  use  for 
making  candy  and  for  stuffing  roast  turkey ;  and  in  recent 
years  we  have  been  growing  them  ourselves,  either  by 
planting  the  nuts  or  by  grafting  cuttings  of  the  foreign 
trees  upon  our  native  chestnut  sprouts.  Such  trees  thrive, 
and  the  sprouts,  fed  by  the  native  roots,  grow  rapidly  and 
are  soon  bearing  fruit. 

The  pistachio  nut  comes  from  Syria,  and  the  pine  nut, 
which  is  of  about  the  same  size,  is  found  in  many  parts  of 
southern  Europe,  as  well  as  in  Korea  and  other  lands  of 
similar  climates.  Both  of  these  nuts  are  eaten  raw  and 
roasted,  and  they  are  often  ground  up  or  coated  with  sugar 
and  sold  as  a  candy.  We  have  also  hazelnuts  and  filberts, 
which  are  used  in  confections  or  are  eaten  raw. 

There  are  two  nuts  grown  in  tropical  lands  which  are 
now  exported  to  all  parts  of  the  globe.  These  are  the 
cocoanut  and  the  Brazil  nut.  The  Brazil  nut  grows  chiefly 
in  northern  South  America,  along  the  banks  of  the  Amazon 
and  the  Orinoco  Rivers ;  and  the  cocoanut  is  found  al- 
most everywhere  near  the  seacoast  in  the  hot  parts  of 
the  world. 

The  Brazil  nut  is  remarkable  in  that  it  is  a  nut  within  a 
nut.  It  grows  inside  a  shell  bigger  than  that  of  the 
largest  cocoanut,  from  eighteen  to  twenty-four  nuts  being 
found  in  each  shell.  The  tree  which  produces  it  rises  to  a 
height  of  more  than  one  hundred  feet ;  and  if  one  of  these 
great  nuts  should  be  brushed  off  by  the  wind  or  thrown 
down  by  a  monkey  so  that  it  should  strike  a  traveler 
beneath,  it  would  probably  kill  him.  Brazil  nuts  are 
sometimes  called  cream  nuts.  They  are  about  as  long  as 
a  boy's  little  finger ;  they  have  hard  black  or  brown  shells 


NUTS 


295 


and    white   kernels    full  of   oil.     They  may  be  found   in 
almost  any  of  our  grocery  stores. 

Far  more  important  is  the  cocoanut.  It  is  grown  by  the 
millions  on  the  tropical  islands  of  the  Pacific,  and  we  find 
it  in  vast  groves  in  Samoa  and  in  the  Philippines.  It 
sprouts  up  quickly  on  the   coral  atolls  in  mid-ocean   and 


A  cocoanut  tree. 


along  the  seashore  in  Africa,  South  America,  Asia,  and 
in  the  West  Indies. 

This  tree  is  a  palm  which  begins  to  bear  at  seven  or 
eight  years  of  age  and  produces  fruit  for  many  years. 
The  cocoanuts  grow  in  great  bunches  where  the  leaves 
sprout  out  at  the  top  of  the  trunk  ;  and  a  good  tree  will 
produce  a  hundred  nuts  a  year.     The  nuts  fall  when  they 


206 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


are  ripe,  and  the  rough  outside  husks  are  taken  off  before 
they  are  shipped  to  our  markets. 

The  meat  of  the  cocoanut  is  sometimes  eaten  raw,  but 
it  is  chiefly  valuable  when  dried,  in  which  shape  it  is  known 
as  copra  and  is  exported  to  Europe  and  the  United  States 
to  be  ground  up  and  pressed  into  oil  for  making  soap  and 


Making  copra  in  Samoa. 


for  use  in  certain  manufactures.  Seven  or  eight  cocoanuts 
will  produce  about  one  quart  of  oil,  and  the  refuse  from 
the  pressing  forms  a  good  food  for  stock-  Dried  cocoa- 
nut,  or  copra,  is  one  of  the  principal  articles  of  commerce 
in  the  South  Sea  Islands ;  and  many  of  our  Samoan  and 
Filipino  cousins  get  a  large  part  of  their  money  from 
their  cocoanut  groves.      In  making  copra  the  rough  husks 


COFFEE  297 

of  the  nuts  must  be  first  taken  off.  The  inside  shells  are 
then  broken,  and  the  kernels,  cut  in  pieces,  are  dried  in  the 
sun  and  packed  for  export. 

We  use  considerable  ripe  cocoanut  meat  in  making  candy 
and  cake.  Some  of  us,  no  doubt,  have  tasted  cocoanut 
milk,  the  juice  of  the  ripe  cocoanut.  The  best  milk  is  from 
the  green  nut,  and  this  can  be  had  only  in  the  lands  of  the 
cocoanut.  It  is  as  clear  as  water  and  is  most  delicious 
when  drunken  direct  from  the  shell. 

Another  tree  of  this  family  which  yields  nuts  in  commer- 
cial quantities  is  the  African  oil  palm,  whose  fruit  compares 
to  the  cocoanut  much  as  a  glass  marble  does  to  a  football. 
These  nuts  grow  in  clusters  of  a  thousand  or  more.  Their 
kernels  range  in  size  from  sparrow  eggs  to  pigeon  eggs. 
They  contain  an  oil  which  is  used  by  the  natives  for  cook- 
ing and  lighting  and  which  is  exported  by  the  ship  load  to 
Europe  for  soap  making  and  for  other  manufactures. 


**:c 


41.    COFFEE 

COFFEE,  tea,  and  cacao  are  so  largely  consumed  by 
mankind  that  they  form  important  articles  of  com- 
merce and  industry.  So  much  coffee  is  produced  every 
year  that  if  it  were  evenly  divided  there  would  be  more 
than  a  pound  and  a  half  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child ; 
and  so  many  coffee  trees  are  now  growing  that  every  in- 
habitant of  the  world  might  have  a  tree  of  his  own,  and 
leave  many  millions  to  spare. 

We  have  no  coffee  trees  in  the  United  States  proper,  on 


298 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


account  of  our  cold  climate  ;  nevertheless,  we  buy  more 
coffee  than  any  other  country.  We  use  twice  as  much 
per  capita  as  the  Germans  and  many  times  as  much  as 
the  Belgians,  Austro-Hungarians,  Dutch,  British,  or  Cana- 
dians, who  rank  next  to  us  among  the  coffee  drinkers  of 
the  world.  We  buy  enough  in  a  year  to  equal  twelve 
pounds  for  every  person  in  our  country,  and  our  coffee  bill 
often  amounts  to  ninety  million  dollars.  Of  this  great  sum, 
every  American  family  which  drinks  coffee  pays  a  part; 
and,  therefore,  we  are  personally  interested  in  learning 
about  it  and  how  it  is  grown. 

Coffee  comes  from  the  seeds  of  a  tree  which  is  found 
in  many  parts  of  the  tropics.     It  is  an  evergreen  from  ten 

to  twenty  feet  high, 
with  shiny  leaves. 
It  bears  small  white 
blossoms  and  berries 
of  about  the  size  of  a 
cranberry  and  of  the 
same  color  and  shape. 
Inside  each  berry  are 
one  or  two  seeds  or 
beans  which  form  the 
coffee  of  commerce. 
The  seeds  are  usually 
half  globes,  fitted  together  with  the  flat  sides  facing  each 
other  and  surrounded  by  a  sweet  fleshy  pulp.  The  berries 
grow  close  to  the  stalk  all  over  the  tree.  They  are  picked 
off  when  ripe,  and  the  seeds,  properly  dried  and  cleaned, 
are  shipped  all  over  the  world,  to  make  this  drink  which 
is  so  much  relished  by  man. 


Coffee  blossoms  and  berries. 


COFFEE  299 

The  coffee  tree  is  supposed  to  have  originated  in  Abys- 
sinia and  to  have  received  its  name  from  the  province  of 
Kaff a,  where  it  still  grows  wild.  It  was  first  carried  over  to 
Arabia  and  planted  there  in  the  districts  from  where  the 
purest  of  the  famed  Mocha  coffee  comes.  Toward  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century  it  was  taken  to  Java  and  then 
to  other  tropical  countries  all  over  the  world. 

It  thrives  best  in  latitudes  between  fifteen  degrees  north 
and  south  of  the  Equator,  although  it  is  cultivated  with 
success  in  places  thirty  degrees  south  or  north,  where  the 
temperature  does  not  fall  below  fifty-five  above  zero.  Jack 
Frost  is  a  deadly  enemy  to  this  tree,  and  excessive  heat 
hinders  its  growth.  It  is  usually  found  some  distance  back 
from  the  sea  and  especially  upon  well-watered  mountain 
slopes,  from  one  to  four  thousand  feet  above  sea  level. 

The  chief  coffee  regions  are  upon  our  own  hemisphere ; 
and  nearly  all  the  world's  crop  comes  from  South  America, 
and  especially  from  Brazil.  Central  America  and  the 
West  Indies  also  produce  coffee  abundantly. 

The  total  crop  of  the  world  amounts  in  some  years  to  as 
much  as  twenty-three  hundred  million  pounds,  of  which 
twenty-one  hundred  million  and  more  come  from  this  hemi- 
sphere ;  most  of  the  remainder  being  from  Java  and  Sumatra 
in  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  from  Ceylon  and  some 
other  islands  belonging  to  the  British,  in  the  Indian  Ocean. 
Coffee  is  also  raised  in  Australia,  in  Madagascar,  and  in 
parts  of  eastern  and  western  Africa ;  while  Hawaii  and 
the  Philippine  Islands  produce  some  for  export.  A  few 
million  pounds  of  excellent  coffee  are  grown  in  the  moun- 
tainous regions  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  and  about  two 
hundred  million  pounds  are  annually  grown  in  Mexico  and 


300  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD  IS   FED 

Central  America.  Haiti  and  San  Domingo  produce  a  con- 
siderable amount,  and  so  do  Colombia,  Venezuela,  Ecuador, 
Peru,  and  Chile.  The  chief  of  all  coffee  countries,  however, 
is  Brazil,  which  yields  at  least  two  thirds  of  the  world's 
crop,  furnishing  more  than  enough  each  year  to  give  one 
pound  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  upon  earth. 

The  greater  part  of  the  coffee  used  by  the  United  States 
comes  from  Brazil,  and  we  can  learn  all  about  it  by  mak- 
ing a  tour  through  the  highlands  southwest  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  where  more  coffee  is  grown  than  anywhere  else  in 
the  world.  The  land  there  is  from  one  thousand  to  three 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea ;  it  is  gently  rolling,  and  the 
hillsides  are  covered  with  coffee  plantations. 

We  take  passage  on  one  of  the  coffee  steamers  at  New 
York ;  and  after  sailing  southeastwardly  many  days,  we 
reach  the  coast  of  Brazil  at  Bahia,  where  we  turn  to  the 
southwest  and  finally  land  at  Santos,  the  port  for  Sao  Paulo. 
Here  we  climb  the  highlands  by  train,  over  a  cog  railroad ; 
and  after  a  journey  on  the  cars  of  several  hundred  miles 
across  country,  we  find  ourselves  on  one  of  the  largest  of  the 
coffee  estates.  We  have  been  riding  for  hours  through  a 
region  covered  with  coffee  trees  and  have  gone  to  and  fro 
on  the  little  railroad  which  carries  the  berrries  from  the 
trees  to  the  factory  and  reaches  every  part  of  this  mighty 
plantation. 

How  interesting  it  is  !  Standing  upon  the  higher  hills 
there  are  mill-ions  of  coffee  trees  within  sight ;  we  can  see 
nothing  else  as  far  as  our  eyes  can  reach.  The  land  is 
covered  with  a  mantle  of  green,  striped  here  and  there 
with  bands  of  brick  red.  The  green  mantle  is  the  coffee 
trees,  and  the  red  marks  out  the  roads.  -  Look  down  at 


COFFEE  301 

the  soil.  It  is  the  color  of  brick  dust,  and  this  color  comes 
from  the  large  amount  of  iron  mixed  with  the  other  mate- 
rials which  it  contains.  The  redder  the  soil,  the  better  it 
is  thought  to  be  for  coffee,  although  in  some  other  parts  of 
the  world  coffee  is  raised  upon  soil  which  is  not  red  at  all. 

Now  observe  the  trees.  In  the  field  where  we  are  stand- 
ing they  look  more  like  bushes  than  anything  else.  They 
are  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  height,  and  the  branches  grow  out 
on  all  sides,  from  the  ground  to  the  top.  They  are  planted 
in  rows,  and  the  long  rows  of  green  extend  on  and  on  until 
they  lose  themselves  in  the  sky  at  the  tops  of  the  hills  in 
the  distance. 

We  take  horses  and  ride  through  field  after  field.  In 
some  the  trees  are  only  as  high  as  our  knees,  and  in  others 
they  are  three  times  as  high  as  our  heads.  Here  they  are 
planting  coffee.  The  forest  has  been  cut  down,  and  a 
gang  of  laborers  is  setting  out  the  plants  among  the 
stumps.  In  the  next  field  we  find  a  score  or  more  boys 
on  their  knees,  pulling  the  weeds  from  about  the  young 
trees ;  and  farther  on  men  are  plowing  with  mules  which 
they  direct  carefully  through  the  rows,  turning  up  the  red 
soil. 

As  we  go,  we  observe  that  it  takes  a  great  deal  of  work 
to  grow  coffee  trees.  The  beans  are  first  sown  in  seed 
beds  or  nurseries.  They  soon  sprout,  and  when  they  are  a 
few  inches  high  they  are  transplanted,  each  being  set  out 
in  a  little  basin  or  hole,  with  sticks  or  leaves  spread  above 
it  to  protect  it  from  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun.  The  crop  is 
frequently  hoed  and  plowed  to  keep  down  the  weeds ;  and 
this  must  be  continued  until  the  trees  are  four  years  old, 
when  they  will  begin  to  bear  fruit.     After  this  they  will 


302 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


produce  several  pounds  of  beans  every  year ;  and  in  this 
rich  coffee  zone  of  southern  Brazil  a  tree  may  continue  to 
bear  for  thirty  or  even  more  years. 

A  great  coffee  plantation  looks  different  from  season  to 
season.  Down  here  south  of  the  Equator  spring  comes 
while  we  in  the  temperate  zone  are  having  our  autumn, 


Picking  coffee  berries  in  Brazil. 


and  the  coffee  bushes  begin  to  blossom  in  December.  At 
this  time  the  air  is  loaded  with  fragrance,  and  the  hills 
are  covered  with  white  flowers,  shining  out  through  the 
green  leaves. 

Along  in  April  or  May  the  berries  turn  red,  and  the  pick- 
ing begins.  The  berries  ripen  at  different  times,  and  the 
harvesting  lasts  for  weeks.     During  the  harvest  hundreds 


COFFEE  303 

of  men,  women,  and  children  may  be  seen  moving  about 
through  the  bushes.  Some  are  sitting  down  and  picking 
or  stripping  the  berries  from  the  low  branches,  while  others 
pull  down  and  strip  off  those  higher  up.  Sometimes  a 
sheet  is  placed  around  the  bottom  of  a  tree  and  the  berries 
are  allowed  to  fall  upon  it. 

After  picking,  the  fruit  is  taken  to  the  factory  in  differ- 
ent ways.  On  this  plantation  the  most  of  it  goes  upon  the 
railroad ;  but  on  others  it  is  carried  on  mule  back  or  in 
wagons,  and  sometimes  it  is  floated  down  in  long  chutes, 
through  which  mountain  streams  have  been  conducted. 

We  follow  one  of  the.  train  loads  to  the  factory  and 
watch  the  coffee  seeds  taken  out  and  prepared  for  the 
markets.  The  factory  is  a  large  building  filled  with  ma- 
chinery of  different  kinds  for  extracting  the  seeds ;  and 
near  it  are  great  fields  paved  with  cement,  on  which  the 
coffee  beans  are  dried  in  the  sun. 

Let  us  look  .at  some  of  the  berries  which  have  just  come 
in  from  the  fields.  They  look  like  red  cherries  and  are 
almost  as  soft.  We  take  up  one  and  bite  into  it.  The 
taste  is  not  bad ;  and  we  chew  away  at  it  until  the  skin 
and  pulp  have  separated  from  the  two  hard  beans  which 
lie  within,  their  flat  sides  touching  each  other.  We  take 
the  beans  out  of  our  mouths  and  look  at  them.  They  are 
white,  and  it  is  only  when  we  cut  off  the  outer  envelopes 
or  skins,  in  which  each  seed  lies,  that  we  find  the  hard 
green  coffee  beans  of  our  grocery  stores.  Every  bean  has 
two  skins ;  an  outer  one  somewhat  like  parchment,  and 
another  within  as  thin  as  fine  tissue  paper.  These  skins 
must  both  be  taken  off  before  the  beans  can  be  sent  to  our 
markets. 


304  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

The  first  process  is  getting  rid  of  the  pulp.  The  berries 
are  run  through  machines  which  squash  them  without 
injuring  the  seeds,  making  a  mush  of  the  pulp  and  seeds. 
This  mush  is  now  carried  over  a  long  copper  cylinder, 
in  which  are  hundreds  of  holes,  each  just  big  enough  for  a 
coffee  bean, to  pass  through.     As.  the  mush  passes  oyer  the 


Coffee  drying  outside  a  Brazilian  factory. 

cylinder,  the  beans  drop  through  the  holes  and  are  carried 
away  by  a  little  canal,  into  large  vats.  Here  they  are 
scoured  clean  by  machinery,  a  great  screw  moving  around 
among  them  and  leaving  them  as  white  as  snow. 

The  next  process  is  drying,  in  order  that  the  skins  may 
be  crushed  and  taken  off.  The  white  beans  are  spread 
upon  the  cement  floors  outside  the  factory  and  are  left  in 


SSITY 

of  J        COFFEE  .  305 

the  sun  for  several  weeks,  until  each  is  as  dry  as  a  bone. 
During  this  time  they  are  stirred  about  with  rakes,  in  order 
that  they  may  dry  evenly,  and  are  covered  up  at  night,  so 
that  they  may  not  get  wet. 

The  third  process  is  the  skinning.  Every  little  bean  has 
to  have  its  clothes  taken  off.  Its  thick  overcoat  of  parch- 
ment must  be  removed  and  the  tissue-paper-like  under- 
clothes, sometimes  called  the  silver  skin,  must  be  torn 
away,  so  that  it  may  go  in  its  olive-green  nakedness  to  our 
markets.  This  undressing  is  done  by  machinery  which 
breaks  the  skins,  and  by  fanning  mills  which  free  the 
chaff  from  the  beans,  blowing  it  away  while  the  beans 
flow  off  by  themselves. 

The  cleaned  coffee  beans  are  of  different  sizes.  Some 
are  large  and  some  small,  some  round  and  some  almost  flat. 
They  must  now  be  separated  and  graded  before  they  are 
ready  for  shipment.  This  is  done  by  passing  them  over 
sieves,  so  arranged  that  the  grains  are  graded  and  run  out 
through  different  pipes  into  bags  ready  to  be  shipped  to 
the  markets. 

Coffee  is  usually  sorted  into  varieties,  as  to  char- 
acter, size,  and  quality.  These  vary  according  to  the 
soil  in  which  the  plants  grow  and  also  according  to  the 
parts  of  the  plant  from  which  the  berries  come.  There 
are  also  different  varieties  of  the  coffee  tree,  such  as 
the  Arabian,  the  Liberian,  and  others,  each  of  which  has 
its  own  kind  of  fruit.  There  are  certain  grades  known  to 
the  market ;  and  some  of  the  beans  are  shipped  abroad  as 
Mocha,  some  as  Java,  and  some  as  Peaberry  Rio,  and 
others.  The  fact  that  a  coffee  bears  the  name  of  Mocha 
is  no  sign  that  it  came  from  Arabia;  and  very  little  of  the 

FOODS  —  20 


306 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


coffee  sold  in  our  groceries  as  Java  ever  saw  the  island 

of  Java  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies. 

Coffee  is  shipped  in   sacks,   each  of  which  holds  one 

hundred  and  thirty-two  pounds;  and  in  this  shape  it  is 

taken  on  the  cars  to  Santos  or  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  there 

loaded  upon  steamers 
which  carry  it  to  the 
United  States  or  to 
Europe. 

Leaving  Brazil,  let 
us  now  take  a  look 
at  some  of  the  coffee 
regions  of  Java.  The 
mountain  slopes  in 
many  parts  of  that 
island  are  covered 
with  coffee  trees. 
Java  lies  near  the 
Equator,  and  its  cli- 
mate is  so  hot  that 
the  trees  need  to  be 
shaded.      When  the 

coffee  is  young,  ba- 
in Java  coffee  trees  are  shaded.  nana  phmts  are  uged 

for  this  purpose,  and,  later  on,  larger  trees,  the  leaves  of 
which  meet  together  overhead  and  shut  out  the  hot  sun.  j 
In  some  parts  of  the  island  there  are  estates  where  the 
best  of  machinery  is  used,  much  like  the  plantation  we 
have  visited  in  Brazil.  In  others  the  trees  are  in  small 
orchards,  each  owned  or  rented  by  a  family,  who  take 
care  of  them    and   gather   the   crop.      The  children  aid 


COFFEE  307 

in  the  picking,  the  little  brown  boys  and  girls  moving  in 
and  out  of  the  green  bushes,  stripping  off  the  red  berries 
and  carrying  them  home  to  be  dried  in  the  sun.  After 
this,  all  unite  in  pounding  the  hulls  off  in  wooden  mortars, 
and  in  winnowing  the  chaff  of  skins  and  hulls  by  throw- 
ing it  into  the  air.  They  carry  the  beans  to  the  ware- 
houses belonging  to  the  government  or  to  private  parties 
and  sell  them  for  so  much  a  pound. 

1  The  coffee  soil  of  Java  is  usually  of  a  chocolate-brown 
color,  and  some  of  it  has  a  reddish  tinge,  like  that  of  Brazil. 
Java  is  a  land  of  volcanoes,  and  many  of  its  volcanoes 
spout  forth  mud  instead  of  stones.  The  mud  contains  rich 
fertilizing  matter  which,  when  dry,  turns  to  a  fine  dust 
and  enriches  the  soil.  This  dust  is  known  as  volcanic 
ash  and  is  excellent  for  coffee.  A  somewhat  similar  soil 
is  found  on  our  coffee  estates  in  Hawaii. 

I  have  seen  coffee  trees  growing  luxuriantly  in  the 
southern  part  of  our  Philippine  Islands.  Here  I  also 
observed  a  process  of  coffee  manufacture  of  an  almost 
savage  nature.  It  was  on  a  little  plantation  on  the  island 
of  Sulu,  where  the  Moros  were  employed  in  harvesting  the 
crop.  The  ripe  berries  had  been  brought  in  from  the  trees 
and  handed  to  a  score  of  Moro  women  and  girls,  each  of 
whom  had  a  large  tin  pan  by  her  side.  The  berries  were 
hulled  by  putting  them  in  the  mouth  and  chewing  them 
until  the  pulp  was  free  from  the  seeds.  After  this  both 
pulp  and  seeds  were  dropped  out  into  the  pan,  and  later 
on  the  pulp  was  washed  away  from  the  seeds  in  a  creek 
near  by.  The  beans  were  dried  in  the  sun,  and  the  two 
skins  taken  off  by  pounding  the  beans  with  a  wooden 
pestle,  in  a  mortar  dug  out  of  the  upright  end  of  the  log. 


308  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

We  raise  excellent  coffee  in  Porto  Rico.  IVTany  of  the 
mountainous  parts  of  this  island  are  covered  with  coffee 
trees;  and  every  October  there  is  a  wealth  of  rich  red 
coffee  berries  shining  out  of  the  green  leaves.  The  pick- 
ing season  lasts  several  months ;  and  our  little  Porto  Rican 
cousins  aid  their  parents  in  gathering  the  berries  into  bas- 
kets and  in  carrying  them  to  the  factory  on  their  heads. 
Much  of  the  coffee  is  harvested  in  the  interior  and  taken 
to  the  ports  on  the  backs  of  ponies,  and  not  a  little 
goes  in  great  carts,  hauled  by  oxen  yoked  up  by  their 
horns.  Porto  Rican  coffee  is  carefully  sorted  after  it 
reaches  the  ports.  It  is  especially  prized  by  the  coffee 
drinkers  of  Europe  and  is  yearly  growing  in  favor  in 
the  United  States. 

The  coffee,  as  it  comes  to  us  from  the  countries  where 
it  is  raised,  is  in  the  raw  olive-green  beans  which  make 
the  coffee  of  commerce.  In  this  shape  it  is  sold  in  all 
our  grocery  stores.  Before  it  is  used  for  drinking,  the 
coffee  must  be  roasted  and  ground.  Many  people  do 
this  at  home,  but  there  are  also  large  establishments 
which  make  a  business  of  roasting  and  grinding  coffee, 
and  the  beans  so  roasted  and  ground  are  to  be  found 
almost  everywhere. 

~>*Ko« — 

42.    TEA 

LET  us  take  a  cup  of  tea  with  some  of  our  friends 
in  Japan,  while  we  learn  about  a  wonderful  plant 
which  furnishes  a  drink  used  by  millions  of  people  in 
many  parts  of  the  world.  We  are  sitting  in  a  tea  house 
near  Uji,  on  the  edge  of  one  of  the  best  tea  gardens  of 


TEA  309 

the  Japanese  Empire.  We  took  off  our  shoes  upon  enter- 
ing, in  order  not  to  soil  the  soft  white  mats,  and  are 
now  sitting  with  our  hosts  upon  little  cushions,  flat  on 
the  floor.  How  delightful  it  is!  The  walls  have  been 
shoved  back,  and  the  air,  fragrant  with  the  odor  of 
green  tea  leaves,  blows  through.  We  can  almost  pick  the 
flowers  which  are  blossoming  outside  the  house;  and  that 
mountain  stream  flowing  by  seems  to  gurgle  a  welcome 
to  us  straight-eyed  boys  and  girls  from  a  far-away  land. 

Now  a  little  Japanese  waitress  in  a  dark  blue  kimona 
and  white  foot  mittens  trots  in  with  some  tiny  blue 
cups  on  a  tray.  She  first  salutes  us  by  getting  down 
on  her  knees  and  sucking  in  her  breath,  as  she  bows  her 
head  to  the  floor.  She  then  hands  each  of  us  a  cup  of 
steaming  straw-colored  liquor  which  has  a  delicious  aroma. 
It  is  the  best  of  Japanese  tea.  We  drink  it  slowly, 
native  fashion,  taking  three  long  sips  and  a  short  one, 
sucking  in  our  breath  loudly  as  we  do  so.  The  more 
noise  we  make  in  drinking,  the  better  our  host  will  be 
pleased ;  for  this  shows  that  we  appreciate  the  quality 
of  the  tea  and  like  it. 

Tea  has  been  used  in  Japan  and  China  for  ages;  and 
the  people  of  these  countries  drink  more  tea  to-day  than 
all  the  rest  of  the  world  put  together.  The  amount  con- 
sumed by  them  in  one  year  has  been  estimated  at  more 
than  two  thousand  million  pounds,  which  is  about  three 
times  as  much  as  is  used  by  the  people  of  Europe,  North 
America,  and  other  tea-drinking  countries.  The  British, 
whether  at  home  in  England,  Ireland,  or  Scotland,  or 
abroad  in  Australia,  South  Africa,  or  Canada,  are  the 
chief  tea  drinkers  of  the  white  race.     They  consume  from 


310  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS  FED 

four  to  eight  pounds  a  year  for  each  person,  while  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  and  of  the  other  countries  of 
Europe  each  drink  on  the  average  only  one  pound  or  less. 
The  Russians  are  especially  fond  of  tea ;  every  well-to-do 
family  keeps  boiling  water  ready  for  making  it  by  means 
of  a  samovar,  which  is  a  brass  urn  heated  by  a  pipe  inside 
filled  with  charcoal.  They  usually  serve  tea  in  tumblers, 
without  milk,  flavoring  it  with  a  slice  of  lemon  ;  and  many 
of  them,  in  drinking  it,  put  a  lump  of  loaf  sugar  between  the 
teeth  and  suck  the  tea  through  it.  In  many  English  homes 
tea  is  served  every  afternoon  and  often  instead  of  coffee 
for  breakfast.  Here  in  Japan  it  is  offered  us  the  moment 
we  enter  a  house  ;  and  the  natives  seem  to  be  drinking 
it  from  morning  until  night. 

Where  does  tea  come  from  ?  It  is  from  the  evergreen 
leaves  of  bushes,  such  as  we  see  on  all  sides  in  the 
gardens  about  us.  The  bushes  are  from  three  to  five 
feet  in  height,  and  the  leaves  resemble  those  of  a  rose 
bush  or  a  willow  tree.  It  is  from  the  young  tender 
light  green  leaves  which  those  women  and  children  are 
picking  that  the  best  tea  is  made.  Notice  how  they 
move  about  among  the  bushes,  plucking  off  leaf  after  leaf 
and  putting  the  leaves  in  baskets.  They  are  careful  which 
leaves  they  pick  and  try  to  get  all  the  young  ones. 
There  are  some  girls  who  have  filled  their  baskets  and 
are  carrying  them  to  the  tea  factory,  where  the  leaves 
will  be  dried  and  will  then  become  the  little  twisted-up 
tea  of  our  grocery  stores. 

The  tea  plant  belongs  to  the  same  family  as  the 
camellia.  It  is  a  native  of  subtropical  Asia  and  grows 
wild  on  the  slopes  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains.     It  has 


TEA 


311 


been  cultivated  for  hundreds  of  years  in  Japan  and 
China ;  but  only  within  the  last  century  has  it  been 
grown  commercially  in  India,  Ceylon,  and  Java,  from 
where  more  than  half  the  tea  exported  now  comes.  The 
wild  plants  grow  to  a  height  of  fifteen  or  more  feet,  but 
the  cultivated  ones  are  trimmed  back  and  are  usually  kept 


Japanese  women  and  children  picking  tea. 


only  three,  four,  or  five  feet  in  height.  Tea  plants  are 
quite  hardy,  and  it  is  believed  that  they  can  be  grown 
in  parts  of  our  Southern  States.  Indeed,  a  successful 
plantation  has  been  established  in  South  Carolina. 

In  growing  tea,  the  seeds  are  sown  in  nurseries  or  in 
the  gardens  themselves.  The  plants  are  set  out  so  close 
together  that  fifteen  hundred  or  more  can  be  grown  on  an 


3 1 2  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

acre.  They  require  a  rich  soil  and  must  be  cultivated  and 
weeded  until  they  are  three  years  old,  when  the  leaves  are 
first  plucked  for  tea.  They  produce  more  leaves  as  they 
grow  older.  After  the  first  picking  the  tea  is  gathered 
several  times  every  season,  the  limbs  being  trimmed  off 
from  time  to  time,  so  that  the  bush,  although  only  a  few 
feet  in  height,  grows  after  a  while  quite  a  thick  trtnk. 
In  some  localities  the  bushes  are  cut  down  to  the  ground 
every  ten  years  and  new  ones  are  allowed  to  sprout  from 
the  stumps. 

The  best  tea  comes  from  the  young  leaves  and  the  buds 
just  ready  to  open.  In  Japan  there  are  three  pickings 
every  year,  and  in  some  parts  of  China,  four.  The  first 
is  in  April,  when  the  buds  have  just  unfolded  and  are 
covered  with  fine  silky  hair.  The  second  is  in  May  or 
June,  and  the  third  and  fourth  later  on.  As  the  summer 
wanf  s,  the  leaves  lose  in  quality,  and,  although  only  the 
tenderest  are  taken,  those  picked  last  make  very  poor  tea. 

Tea  varies  also  in  flavor,  according  to  the  soil  and 
locality  in  which  it  is  grown.  Some  of  the  choicest 
tea  is  so  valuable  to  the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese  that 
it  is  seldom  exported.  I  have  tasted  tea  in  Canton,  in 
southern  China,  which  the  merchants  there  told  me  was 
worth  twenty  dollars  a  pound ;  and  teas  are  grown  in 
Japan,  the  first  pickings  of  which  bring  five  times  as  much 
there  as  any  tea  sold  in  our  markets. 

In  Japan  and  China  most  of  the  tea  is  raised  in  small 
gardens,  although  there  are  parts  of  each  country  where 
the  little  tea  farms  all  together  cover  many  acres,  the  green 
bushes  extending  on  and  on  for  long  distances  in  every 
direction.     In  the   regions   south   of   the  Yangtse    River 


TEA  313 

there  are  thousands  of  porters  who  carry  the  tea  on  their 
backs  to  the  markets.  In  India,  Ceylon,  and  Java  the  tea 
is  raised  on  large  estates,  some  of  which  employ  hundreds 
of  hands.  The  Sinagar  tea  plantation,  which  I  visited  in 
Java,  was  then  producing  more  than  a  million  pounds  of 
the  finest  tea  every  year ;  and  it  had,  in  some  seasons,  as 
many  as  three  thousand  women  and  girls  picking  tea. 
They  were  paid  less  than  half  a  cent  each  for  every 
pound  of  leaves,  and  the  best  pickers  could  make  only 
a  few  cents  a  day.  It  takes  several  pounds  of  tea  leaves 
to  make  a  pound  of  tea,  and  a  single  bush  seldom  yields 
more  than  one  pound  of  leaves  each  year. 

The  Sinagar  estate  had  great  factories  in  which  the  tea 
was  cured  by  machinery.  The  leaves  were  first  spread  out 
on  the  floor  to  wilt  and  were  then  put  into  rolling  ma- 
chines, by  which  they  were  rubbed  about  over  tables,  so 
that  they  lost  their  flat  shape  and  came  out  looking 
more  like  little  green  worms  than  anything  else.  They  were 
next  put  through  a  process  of  fermentation  and  then  dried 
by  hot  blasts  and  revolving  fans,  after  which  they  were 
ready  to  be  packed  up  into  lead  lined,  damp  proof  boxes, 
for  export  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Here  in  Japan  and  also  in  China  most  of  the  tea  is 
cured  by  hand.  There  are  two  ways  of  doing  this,  ac- 
cording as  green  or  black  tea  is  desired.  In  making 
green  tea,  the  fresh  leaves  are  roasted  in  pans  or  steamed 
for  a  short  time  immediately  after  they  are  gathered.  They 
are  now  rolled  with  the  bare  hand  upon  a  table  and  are  then 
taken  back  and  again  roasted  in  ovens  for  an  hour  or 
more.  As  the  roasting  goes  on,  they  are  stirred  and 
rolled  about;  and,  when  they  come  out,  they  are  of  a  dark 


3H 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


green  color,  which  grows  lighter  after  a  time.     The  roast- 
ing is  done  without  fermentation. 

In  curing  black  teas,  the  leaves  are  first  exposed  to  the 
sun  on  circular  trays.  During  this  time  they  ferment, 
wilt,  and  become  limp  and  spotted  with  red  or  brown, 
giving  out  a  peculiar  odor.  The  workmen  watch  the  tea 
and,  when  the  odor  is  just  right,  gather  it  up  in  baskets 


Sorting  tea. 


and  spread  it  out  on  a  long  table,  where  men  and  women 
roll  it  over  and  over  for  about  thirty  minutes  and  then 
pack  it  tightly  in  large  round  baskets,  where  it  again  fer- 
ments. It  is  now  poured  out  on  the  tables  and  again 
rolled,  and  then  roasted  on  iron  gauze  sieves  over  charcoal 
fires.     During  the  roasting  the  color  turns  black. 

After  leaving  the  roasting  or  firing  rooms  the  tea  is 
sorted  and  all  the  seeds,  stalks,  and  rubbish  are  picked  out. 


TEA 


315 


The  leaves  are  then  ready  to  be  shipped  to  the  ports, 
whence  they  go  to  the  markets.  At  the  ports  some  teas 
are  again  roasted  and  sorted ;  so  that  the  tea  for  a  single 
cup  passes  through  many  hands. 

The  chief  of  the  black  teas  known  to  commerce  are 
the  following,  beginning  with  the  finest:  Flowery  Pekoe, 
Orange  Pekoe,  Pekoe,  Suchong,  Oolong,  Congou,  and  Bohio. 
The  chief  green  teas  are :  Gunpowder,  Imperial,  Hyson, 
Young  Hyson,  and  Hyson  skin.  Teas  are  also  classed 
according  to  the  provinces  whence  they  come,  and  in  other 
ways.  The  Formosa  teas  are  especially  fine,  as  are  also 
some  from  Ceylon  and  from 
India.  In  curing  tea,  the 
leaves  are  often  mixed  with 
certain  flowers  for  a  time  to 
give  them  a  fragrant  odor. 
In  China  and  Japan  green 
teas  are  sometimes  colored 
with  indigo,  Prussian  blue, 
and  other  materials.  The 
Chinese  call  colored  teas 
"  lie  teas." 

There  is  another  form  in 
which  tea  is  largely  exported 
to  Russia.  This  is  brick 
tea.  In  making  it,  the  leaves  are  ground  up  and  steamed 
until  they  are  soft  and  mushy.  They  are  then  put  into 
molds  of  about  the  size  of  a  brick  and  pressed  into  shape. 
When  they  come  out  they  are  as  hard  as  so  much  pressed 
clay,  and  the  tea  in  them  will  keep  fresh  for  a  long  time. 
The  choice  leaves  are  made  into  smaller  bricks  which  look 


Brick  tea. 


316  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

much  like  the  little  cakes  of  chocolate  that  are  sold  in  our 
stores.  Brick  tea  is  packed  up  in  boxes  of  the  right  size 
to  be  carried  by  camels,  in  caravans,  across  Asia  to  Russia. 
One  of  the  chief  places  at  which  this  tea  is  manufactured 
is  Hankow;  and  it  can  now  be  taken  thence  by  rail  to 
Pekin  and  over  the  Trans-Siberian  Railroad  through  Russia 
to  all  parts  of  Europe. 

Brick  tea  is  largely  used  in  Tibet  and  Mongolia.  The 
natives  there  make  a  soup  of  tea,  butter,  and  salt  mixed 
with  water,  to  which  a  thick  cream  is  added.  The  Mon- 
gols prize  the  bricks  so  much  that  they  sometimes  use 
them  as  money,  each  brick  passing  for  the  value  of  about 
fifteen  cents. 

The  tea  importers  of  Europe  and  America  have  their 
buyers  in  the  tea-growing  countries.  These  men  pick  out 
the  best  teas.  They  must  be  able  to  tell  good  from  bad 
tea  before  purchasing.  They  examine,  smell,  and  taste 
the  samples  of  tea,  each  made  from  a  different  kind  of 
leaf,  and  can  tell  just  how  much  each  kind  is  worth. 

Most  of  the  teas  are  packed  for  export  in  wooden 
chests  which  are  lined  with  sheet  lead  to  keep  out  the 
moisture.  A  great  strife  prevails  among  the  tea  steamers 
as  to  which  shall  get  its  cargo  first  to  the  markets.  After 
loading,  the  ships  start  from  China  and  Japan  on  their  long 
race  down  to  Singapore  and  across  the  Indian  Ocean  to 
the  Suez  Canal,  and  on  through  the  Mediterranean  to  Eu- 
rope. Their  arrival  is  eagerly  awaited,  and  the  tea  that 
comes  in  first  brings  the  highest  price.  A  large  part  of 
our  tea  is  brought  by  fast  ships  across  the  Pacific,  being 
landed  at  either  Seattle  or  Vancouver,  whence  it  is  sent  by 
rail  to  all  parts  of  our  country. 


CACAO  — CHOCOLATE  AND  COCOA  317 


43.    CACAO  — CHOCOLATE   AND   COCOA 

WHEN  the  Spaniards,  commanded  by  Hernando  Cor- 
tez,  conquered  Mexico,  they  found  the  natives  using 
a  drink  made  from  the  ground-up  seeds  of  a  fruit  that 
grew  on  a  tree.  The  Emperor  Montezuma  was  so  fond  of 
it  that  he  had  some  made  for  him  daily,  and  about  two 
thousand  jars  for  his  household.  The  drink  was  served  to 
him  smoking  hot,  in  golden  goblets ;  and  he*  sipped  it 
from  spoons  of  fine  tortoise  shell.  The  seeds  of  this  tree 
were  so  valued  by  the  Aztecs  that  they  used  them  as 
money ;  and  a  good  double  handful,  in  some  localities, 
was  the  price  of  a  slave.  Pizarro  found  the  Incas 
using  the  same  drink  in  Peru ;  and  his  soldiers,  as  those 
of  Cortez,  tried  the  beverage  and  liked  it.  They  carried 
the  seeds  of  the  tree  back  to  Spain ;  and  from  there  the 
knowledge  of  the  new  drink  gradually  spread,  until  it  was 
known  throughout  Europe,  and  the  seeds  became  an  im- 
portant article  of  commerce. 

This  drink  was  chocolate,  and  the  tree  from  which  the 
seeds  came  was  the  cacao  tree,  which  is  now  commercially 
grown  in  many  tropical  parts  of  the  world.  It  is  a  native 
of  Central  and  South  America,  and  it  was  cultivated  by 
the  Indians  long  before  white  men  crossed  the  Atlantic. 
It  is  now  raised  largely,  not  only  in  Mexico,  Central 
America,  and  the  West  Indies,  but  also  in  Ecuador,  Colom- 
bia, Venezuela,  and  Brazil.  It  has  been  taken  to  the 
islands  and  countries  along  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  in  Africa,  to 
southeastern  Asia,  to  the  Philippines,  Hawaii,  Java,  and 
even  to  Samoa  and  the  other  islands  of  the  South  Seas. 


3i8 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


The  world's  demand  for  cacao  has  become  so  great  that 
several  hundred  million  pounds  of  it  are  annually  exported 
to  the  various  markets,  and  every  nation  of  Christendom 

delights  in  it  as  a 
drink  and  also  in 
candies,  cakes,  and 
puddings. 

What  is  more  de- 
licious than  a  cup  of 
sweet  chocolate  for 
breakfast?  And  how 
our  mouths  water 
when  we  think  of 
chocolate  caramels, 
creams,  or  the  little 
cubes  of  sweet  choco- 
late made  in  different 
ways.  The  use  of 
chocolate  is  steadily 
increasing  in  our 
.  Javanese  women  sorting  cacao.  country   and    also  in 

many  other  parts  of  the  world.  For  a  long  time  the  Span- 
iards consumed  more  than  any  other  nation.  They  were 
the  first  to  know  the  secrets  of  chocolate  manufacture,  and 
they  held,  for  a  time,  the  monopoly  of  the  trade.  Now 
almost  every  one  understands  how  to  make  chocolate,  and 
we  ourselves  import  more  cacao  seeds  than  any  other 
nation.  The  drink  is  used  throughout  Europe;  and  the 
Germans,  French,  British,  and  Dutch  now  each  consume 
far  more  of  it  than  the  Spaniards. 

The  cacao  tree  is   an    evergreen  which  seldom  grows 


CACAO  — CHOCOLATE  AND   COCOA 


319 


more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high  and  which  in  culti- 
vation is  often  kept  lower  by  trimming.  The  tree  has 
large  glossy  leaves  which  grow  chiefly  on  the  ends  of  the 
branches,  but  sometimes  on  the  trunk.  It  has  small 
pinkish  white  blossoms  on  the  trunk  and  the  main 
branches.  Its  fruit  when  ripe  is  about  the  shape  of  a 
squash  and  is  six  or  eight,  or  even  more,  inches  long  and 
sometimes  six  inches  thick, 
and  grows  upon  short  stems 
on  the  trunk  or  the  branches. 
The  ripe  fruit  has  a  thick 
hard  warty  skin  inclosing 
a  sweet  pulp,  in  which  are 
many  reddish  brown  seeds, 
—  the  cacao  beans  of  com- 
merce. There  are  from 
twenty  to  thirty,  and  some- 
times even  forty,  of  these 
seeds  in  one  fruit ;  and  they 
lie  in  five  cells,  each  cell 
filled  with  this  soft  pink  or 
white  pulp.  The  seeds  are 
about  as  big  as  sweet  almonds,  only  a  little  thicker.  Each 
seed  consists  of  a  shell  containing  a  dark  brown  kernel, 
which  is  more  than  half  oil.  From  this  kernel  our  choco- 
late is  made. 

In  raising  cacao  trees,  the  seeds  are  first  planted  in 
nurseries  or  out  in  the  fields.  They  sprout  quickly  and 
soon  grow  a  foot  or  more  high.  They  are  now  trans- 
planted, about  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  the  acre,  in  fields 
shaded  with  bananas  and  are  carefully  weeded  until  they  are 


wB^     Jt*       m 

^w&s 

m    W 

1 

Sfc -vs   f 

I     1 

■WS  * 

Y*  Wji 

mm 

Cacao. 


320 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


four  or  five  years  old,  when  they  begin  to  bear  fruit.  They 
are  in  full  bearing  at  about  the  eighth  year,  when  a  good 
tree  will  yield  about  eight  thousand  seeds,  and  they  con- 
tinue to  bear  for  many  years. 

In  Venezuela,  which  is  one  of  the  most  important  of 
the  cacao-growing  countries,  the  fruit  is  harvested  twice  a 


#    #. 


Cacao  harvester  at  work. 

year.  It  is  cut  from  the  trees,  the  pods  on  the  higher 
branches  being  chopped  off  with  sharp  knives  fastened  to 
long  poles  and  the  fruit  caught  as  it  falls.  In  some  coun- 
tries the  seeds  are  at  once  removed  and  washed,  but  in 
others  they  are  covered  up  and  allowed  to  ferment  in  ves- 
sels, in  heaps  on  the  ground  or  in  holes  under  it,  until  the 
pulp  decays.     After  this  the  beans,  or  seeds,  are  taken 


CACAO  — CHOCOLATE  AND   COCOA  32 1 

out,  dried  in  the  sun,  and  shipped  in  bags  to  the  markets. 
The  ordinary  yield  of  a  tree  is  two  or  three  pounds  of 
seeds  per  year,  although  some  trees  produce  much  more, 
a  good  crop  being  five  or  six  hundred  pounds  to  the 
acre. 

After  the  cacao  beans  have  reached  the  markets,  they 
have  yet  a  number  of  processes  to  go  through  before  they 
become  chocolate  or  cocoa.  These  are  performed  in  great 
factories  filled  with  modern  machinery.  Here  the  beans 
are  first  cleansed  of  dust  and  other  stuff.  They  are  then 
roasted  in  large  revolving  cylinders  in  which  they  are 
moved  over  hot  pipes  for  several  hours.  They  are  next 
crushed  to  get  out  the  kernels,  the  shells  and  dust  being 
taken  away  by  an  air  blast  to  be  treated  separately  and 
sold  under  the  name  of  cacao  shells. 

It  is  from  the  crushed  kernels,  freed  from  the  shells, 
that  the  real  chocolate  comes.  These  are  put  into  mills, 
through  hoppers  above,  and  are  ground  into  a  fine  smooth 
paste  which  flows  out  somewhat  like  thick  molasses.  It 
is  run  off  into  molds,  in  which  it  soon  hardens,  and  it  is  then 
ready  to  be  packed  up  for  sale  to  our  grocery  stores.  In 
making  sweet  chocolate,  sugar  is  added  before  it  is 
molded ;  and,  for  vanilla  chocolate,  some  vanilla  extract, 
or  finely  ground  vanilla  beans. 

Cacao  nibs,  or  the  broken  pieces  of  the  beans  after  the 
shell  is  removed,  are  sometimes  used  to  make  chocolate  or 
cocoa.  An  essence  of  cocoa  is  also  made  from  them,  which 
can  be  used  by  pouring  boiling  water  upon  it.  In  the  manu- 
facture of  chocolate  and  cocoa,  a  large  part  of  the  fat  is 
removed  and  placed  upon  the  market  as  cocoa  butter,  to 
be  used  for  medicinal  purposes. 

FOODS  —  21 


322  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

In  addition  to  tea,  coffee,  and  cacao,  there  are  other 
plants  and  trees  which  furnish  stimulants  or  drinks  in 
different  parts  of  the  world.  The  coca  plant  is  chewed 
by  the  Indians  of  Bolivia  and  of  Peru.  It  is  a  shrub  which 
grows  four  or  five  feet  high,  with  leaves  that  look  like 
those  of  our  wintergreen.  The  leaves  are  stimulating, 
and  many  of  the  Indians  chew  them  all  day  long.  It 
is  from  this  shrub  that  cocaine  is  made. 

In  southeastern  Asia  and  the  islands  about  the  people 
chew  the  nuts  of  the  betel  palm,  which  they  mix  with  lime 
and  tobacco ;  and  in  Africa  the  nuts  of  the  kola  tree  are 
chewed  for  their  invigorating  properties. 

In  Paraguay,  Uruguay,  Argentina,  and  Brazil  the  people 
make  a  tea  called  yerba  mate,  from  the  leaves  of  a  species 
of  wild  holly,  found  in  Paraguay  and  Brazil.  The  plant 
is  also  cultivated.  The  branches  are  cut  off  and  the 
leaves  are  woven  in  and  over  them,  as  a  thatch  over  a 
framework.  Beneath  this  a  fire  is  built  and  is  kept  burn- 
ing until  the  leaves  are  perfectly  dry.  They  are  then  taken 
down  and  pounded  with  flat  wooden  clubs  to  a  coarse 
powder,  which  is  packed  up  in  rawhide  bales  for  the  mar- 
kets. More  than  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  such  bales 
are  sold  every  year. 

In  preparing  mate  for  use,  a  spoonful  of  powder  is  put 
into  a  bowl,  hot  water  is  poured  on,  and  after  a  short  time 
a  tea  is  formed,which  is  sucked  up  through  a  tube.  This  tea 
is  very  refreshing  when  one  is  tired.  Many  South  Ameri- 
cans use  it  for  their  early  breakfast,  and  it  is  said  that  the 
cowboys  of  Argentina  will  gallop  all  day  on  horseback 
without  eating,  if  they  have  a  good  cup  of  mate  before 
they  start  out. 


TOBACCO  323 


44.    TOBACCO 

TOBACCO  is  not  a  food  plant,  but  it  is  so  largely  used 
and  so  important  to  commerce  and  industry  that  we 
must  learn  something  about  it.  It  was  not  known  until 
the  discovery  of  America ;  and  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
stories  which  the  Spaniards  who  went  with  Columbus  told 
upon  their  return  to  Europe  was  how  the  Indians  ate  fire 
and  breathed  the  smoke  from  their  nostrils.  Many  of 
these  Spaniards  had  learned  to  smoke  tobacco,  as  the  In- 
dians did,  and  after  a  while  the  custom  was  introduced 
into  Europe  and  became  fashionable  among  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  the  time.  Tobacco  leaves  were  first 
carried  from  Santo  Domingo  to  Spain  in  1559,  and,  a  few 
years  later,  some  were  taken  by  Sir  Francis  Drake  from 
Virginia  to  England.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  then  started  the 
fashion  of  pipe  smoking  at  the  court  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth. Shortly  after  this  tobacco  began  to  spread  over 
the  world,  and  it  is  now  used  in  some  form  or  other  in 
almost  every  part  of  it. 

As  for  ourselves,  we  think  man  is  better  off  without 
tobacco  ;  and  this  was  the  opinion  of  many  at  the  time  it 
began  to  be  used.  It  was  then  denounced  as  injurious ; 
and  James  I  of  England  described  smoking  as  "loathsome 
to  the  eye,  hateful  to  the  nose,  harmful  to  the  brain,  dan- 
gerous to  the  lungs,  and  in  its  black  fumes,  nearest  resem- 
bling the  Stygian  smoke  of  the  pit  that  is  bottomless." 
Some  of  the  popes  of  those  days  declared  against  smoking, 
and  a  Sultan  of  Turkey  made  tobacco  using  a  crime. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  evil  custom  steadily  grew, 


324 


FOODS:    OR  HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


and  the  demand  for  tobacco  became  great.      Plantations 
were  set  out  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and,  for  a  long  time, 


Tobacco  field  in  Virginia. 

most  of  the  wealth  of  those  colonies  came  from  them. 
The  crop  was  so  valuable  that  taxes  were  paid  in  to- 
bacco, and  it  was  used  as  money.  Some  young  women 
were  once  sent  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  England 
to  the  colonies,  to  be  chosen  by  the  settlers  as  wives  ;  and 
each  groom  paid  for  his  bride's  passage  between  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco. 
For  a  long  time  Maryland  and  Virginia  were  our  only 
tobacco  producers.  A  little  later  tobacco  was  planted  in 
Pennsylvania  and  in  other  parts  of  the  north,  and  it  is  now 
grown  in  almost  every  one  of  the  United  States,  although, 


TOBACCO 


325 


on  a  large  scale,  in  comparatively  few.  Our  chief  tobacco 
States  are  Kentucky,  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  Ohio,  and 
Tennessee  ;  and  our  crop  all  together  is  so  large  that  it  could 
furnish  more  than  ten  pounds  to  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  of  us. 

The  cultivation  of  the  tobacco  plant  has  long  been  ex- 
tended to  other  countries ;  and  it  is  now  grown  on  all  the 
continents  and  on  many  islands  of  the  seas.  It  is  one  of 
the  chief  products  of  the  West  Indies,  some  of  the  finest 
tobacco  of  the  world  being  grown  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico. 
Excellent    varieties   are  also  produced  in  Sumatra,  Java, 


Making  cigars  in  a  Manila  factory. 

and  the  Philippine  Islands.  The  United  States,  however, 
grows  more  tobacco  than  any  other  country ;  and  we 
export  vast  quantities  of  it,  sending  some  to  almost  every 
part  of  the  world.  Our  chief  exports  go  to  Germany,  Eng- 
land, France,  Austria,  and  Holland. 

We  use  a  large  amount  of  it  at  home ;  and,  as  this  lux- 


326  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

ury  is  heavily  taxed,  those  who  smoke,  chew,  or  snuff,  aid 
greatly  in  paying  the  expenses  of  our  government,  our 
tobacco  revenue  amounting  to  many  million  dollars  a  year. 

The  quality  of  tobacco  depends  largely  upon  the  soil, 
climate,  and  method  of  cultivation.  Different  soils  pro- 
duce different  tobaccoes,  and  some  tobaccoes  will  grow 
better  in  certain  localities  than  in  others.  There  is  a  re- 
gion in  western  Cuba  from  which  come  the  finest  cigars ; 
and  the  tobaccoes  of  Sumatra  and  of  Connecticut  are  espe- 
cially valued  for  their  thin,  silky  leaves,  from  which  cigar 
wrappers  are  made.  Other  localities  produce  the  tobacco 
which  is  used  inside  the  wrappers ;  and  some  are  espe- 
cially noted  for  their  fine  smoking  tobaccoes,  cigarette 
tobaccoes,  and  tobaccoes  for  chewing  and  for  snuffing. 

The  tobacco  plant  grows  from  three  to  five  feet  in  height, 
and  often  much  taller.  Its  leaves  have  some  resemblance 
to  cabbage  leaves  ;  but  they  are  longer  and  smoother  and 
of  a  dark  green  color.  The  plants  are  grown  from  the 
seeds,  and  when  one  looks  at  them  he  would  naturally 
think  that  the  seeds  must  be  large.  They  are,  on  the  con- 
trary, about  the  smallest  of  all  seeds.  The  tobacco  seed 
is  not  bigger  than  the  point  of  a  pin,  and  any  of  us  could,  I 
venture  to  say,  hold  a  hundred  thousand  of  them  in  one 
hand.  A  single  plant  will  grow  more  than  half  a  million 
seeds,  or  enough  to  plant  about  one  hundred  acres  of  to- 
bacco. 

In  setting  out  a  tobacco  plantation,  the  first  thing  is  to 
make  a  plant  bed  in  which  the  seeds  can  be  sprouted.  In 
our  Southern  States  this  is  often  done  by  covering  a  piece 
of  ground  with  wood  and  burning  the  wood,  so  that  all  the 
insects,  vegetable  matter,  and  other  seeds  in^the  ground  are 


TOBACCO  327 

cooked  out.  After  this  the  bed  is  manured  and  the  to- 
bacco seeds  are  sown.  A  wide  sheet  of  very  thin  cloth  is 
now  stretched  over  the  bed  to  hold  in  the  heat  and  to  keep 
out  the  insects.  In  a  short  time  the  little  seeds  swell  and 
sprout,  and  the  baby  plants  push  their  heads  through  the 
soil.  They  first  look  like  cabbage  plants,  and  they  are 
soon  ready  to  be  taken  up  and  set  out  in  the  fields.  They 
are  usually  planted  in  hills  at  about  four  thousand  plants 
to  the  acre.  This  is  done  in  the  spring.  They  are  care- 
fully cultivated  throughout  the  summer  and  are  harvested 
in  the  fall. 

As  the  tobacco  ripens,  the  leaves  become  yellow,  and  the 
tobacco  farmers  then  cut  off  the  stalks  close  to  the  earth 
and  hang  them  on  sticks  stuck  in  the  ground.  In  some 
places  they  strip  the  leaves  from  the  stalks  and  string  them 
on  wires. 

After  the  leaves  are  gathered,  they  must  be  dried  and 
cured.  In  some  tobacco  regions  this  is  done  by  hanging 
the  leaves  in  sheds  and  allowing  the  air  to  pass  through 
them.  In  others  they  are  cured  in  tobacco  barns  heated 
by  flues  or  pipes,  so  that  the  moisture  is  gradually  driven 
out,  the  barns  being  kept  hot  day  and  night  during  the 
process.  When  the  leaves  are  cured,  they  are  tied  up  in 
bundles  and  packed  into  bales  for  shipment. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  tobacco  must  go  through  various 
other  processes  in  the  factories  before  it  can  be  used.  The 
leaves  are  stripped  from  the  stems  which  run  through 
them  and  then  prepared  in  different  ways  to  be  used 
as  cigars,  cigarettes,  or  as  tobacco  for  pipe  smoking,  as 
chewing  tobacco,  or  as  snuff. 

At  the  present  time  some  of  our  choice  tobaccoes  are 


328 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 


grown  under  cover.  The  plants  are  set  out  under  great 
tents,  acre  after  acre  being  covered  with  cloth  to  protect 
them  from  the  hot  sun  and  strong  winds  and  to  give  them 


Our  choice  tobaccoes  are  grown  under  cover. 

the  same  temperature  as  in  the  tropics.  There  are  many 
such  tent  farms  in  Connecticut  and  in  Florida,  and  also 
in  the  choicest  tobacco  lands  of  the  Vuelta  Abajo  region 
of  Cuba. 


45-    WHERE   THE   SUGAR   CANE   GROWS 

TO-DAY  we  shall  take  a  peep  into  the  world's  big 
sugar  bowl  and  then  visit  some  of  the  countries 
which  fill  it.  Sugar  is  found  to  some  extent  in  almost 
every  plant  that  is  used  for  food,  and  most  largely  in 
sugar  cane  and  in  beets.     Grape  sugar  comes  from  fruit, 


WHERE  THE  SUGAR  CANE  GROWS  329 

palm  sugar  from  the  juice  of  the  palm,  maple  sugar  from 
the  sap  of  the  maple  tree,  and  milk  sugar  from  cow's 
milk.  The  chief  commercial  sugars  are  from  sugar  cane 
and  from  beets ;  and  a  larger  amount  of  sugar  is  now 
made  from  beets  than  from  cane. 

For  a  long  time  cane  sugar  was  the  only  variety  known 
to  commerce.  This  originated  in  southern  Asia  and  was 
made  in  China  several  thousand  years  before  it  was  brought 
into  Europe.  The  early  Egyptians  and  Greeks  used  honey 
for  sweetening,  and  when  sugar  was  first  carried  to  Europe, 
it  was  so  costly  that  it  was  bought  only  as  medicine  or  as 
a  luxury  by  the  very  rich. 

It  was  not  until  the  Crusades  that  sugar  cane  was  grown 
outside  of  Asia.  It  was  carried  first  to  northern  Africa 
and  later  on  to  the  Madeiras  and  the  Canaries,  which 
islands,  for  a  long  time,  supplied  enough  for  the  European 
market.  Then  the  New  World  was  discovered,  and  the 
cane  was  introduced  into  the  West  Indies.  Its  cultivation 
spread  to  South  America,  and  it  is  now  grown  here  and 
there  throughout  the  tropical  world. 

Beet  sugar,  which  comes  from  the  temperate  zones,  is 
a  much  more  recent  production.  Marggraf,  a  German 
chemist,  first  discovered  it  in  1747,  and  about  1801  a  pupil 
of  his,  named  Achard,  erected  the  first  beet  sugar  factory. 
At  that  time  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  at  war  with  Eng- 
land, and  the  ports  of  France  were  so  blockaded  that 
the  French  could  not  get  sugar.  Napoleon  then  decided 
to  raise  sugar  at  home,  and  he  offered  a  prize  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand  francs  to  any  one  who  could  make  a  suc- 
cess of  extracting  sugar  from  beets. 

Later,  both   the  French  and  the  German  governments 


330  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

paid  bounties  of  so  much  a  pound  on  all  sugar  made  from 
beets  in  their  respective  countries,  and  in  time  a  great  beet 
industry  grew  up.  Other  countries  did  likewise  ;  and  to-day 
beets  are  grown  for  sugar  not  only  in  Europe,  but  in  many 
parts  of  the  United  States.  In  1840  only  five  per  cent  of 
our  sugar  came  from  this  source,  while  more  than  ninety 
per  cent  of  it  came  from  cane ;  but  now  the  greater  part 
of  it  is  beet  sugar. 

In  the  meantime  the  world's  sugar  production  has  been 
steadily  increasing.  In  1840  it  amounted  to  a  little  more 
than  one  million  tons,  whereas  it  is  now  about  twelve 
millions.  Of  this  about  five  twelfths  comes  from  cane, 
and  seven  twelfths  from  beets.- 

The  use  of  sugar  in  the  United  States  is  rapidly  increas- 
ing. When  our  parents  were  children  the  people  ate  only 
about  one  third  as  much  as  they  eat  at  present.  We  are 
now  annually  consuming  more  than  twice  as  much  sugar 
as  the  whole  world  did  in  1840;  we  eat  an  average  of 
seventy-five  pounds  the  year  through  for  each  person  in 
the  United  States,  or  a  pound  and  a  half  every  week. 
Sugar  is  largely  a  luxury,  and  only  those  nations  which 
are  well-to-do  can  eat  much  of  it.  We  Americans  are 
among  the  richest  of  the  world's  peoples.  We  eat  more 
than  twice  as  much  sugar  as  the  Germans  or  the  French, 
and  several  times  as  much  as  any  other  nation  of  Europe 
except  the  British,  whose  per  capita  consumption  is  greatly 
increased  by  the  large  amount  they  use  in  making  jellies 
and  jams  for  export. 

Our  sugar  costs  us  more  than  our  coffee  or  tea  or  any 
other  article  of  food  that  we  buy  from  abroad.  At  five  cents 
a  pound,  the  seventy-five  pounds  of  sugar  which  each  of  us 


WHERE  THE   SUGAR  CANE  GROWS  33 1 

annually  uses  costs  three  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents ; 
whereas  the  barrel  of  flour  which  we  each  use  in  one  year 
costs  only  five  or  six  dollars;  so  that  we  pay  more  than  half 
as  much  for  sugar  as  for  bread.  Moreover,  we  raise  our 
own  wheat;  whereas,  the  most  of  our  sugar  is  imported, 
and  we  often  pay  out  in  one  year,  to  other  nations,  as 
much  as  one  hundred  million  dollars  for  it. 

Now  let  us  take  a  flying  trip  southward  to  the  land  where 
the  sugar  cane  grows.  The  greater  part  of  the  sugar  cane 
raised  in  the  United  States  comes  from  Louisiana,  and  the 
country  for  miles  about  the  low  moist  delta  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  is  covered  with. sugar  plantations.  We  also 
get  a  great  deal  of  sugar  cane  in  Porto  Rico  and  in  the 
Philippine  Islands;  and,  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  we 
have  some  of  the  largest,  best,  and  most  profitable  sugar 
estates  of  the  world.  The  sugar  lands  of  Hawaii  lie 
along  the  coast  and  on  the  lower  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tains. They  are  mostly  owned  by  companies  with  large 
capital  and  are  worked  by  thousands  of  natives  or  Asiatics 
under  white  overseers  and  managers.  Most  of  the  hard 
labor  is  done  by  Japanese  and  Chinese  men  and  women, 
who  have  little  villages  on  the  estates,  where  they  live  much 
as  they  do  in  their  homes  on  the  other  side  of  the  Pacific. 

Many  of  these  plantations  are  irrigated,  and  on  some 
the  water  is  brought  from  the  mountains,  through  wooden 
troughs  many  miles  long.  On  others  it  is  pumped  great 
distances,  and  the  expense  of  getting  it  to  all  parts  of  the 
plantations  is  enormous.  The  larger  establishments  have 
railroads  which  carry  the  cane  to  the  mills  and  steam 
plows  to  cultivate  the  soil. 

How  beautiful  it  is  !     We  ride  on  the  cars  through  walls 


332 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD  IS   FED 


of  bright  green  stalks  which  grow  upward  to  a  height  of 
ten  or  twelve  feet,  looking  from  the  car  windows  like  a 
solid  mass  of  green.  The  stalks  remind  us  of  those  of 
Indian  corn,  save  that  they  are  much  taller  and  have  many 
more  leaves  than  the  cornstalks.  The  canes  grow  more 
closely  together,  and  the  long  stalks  bend  this  way  and 


Planting  sugar  cane  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 


that,  so  that  it  is   almost  impossible  to  make  one's  way 
through  the  rows. 

At  one  place  we  watch  them  planting  the  cane.  The 
land  has  been  plowed,  and  great  furrows,  seven  feet  apart, 
have  been  run  from  one  side  of  the  field  to  the  other. 
Then  stalks  of  fresh  sugar  cane,  trimmed  and  topped,  are 
laid  horizontally,  three  abreast  in  the  rows,  the  pieces  over- 
lapping each  other  so  that  each  furrow  has,  as  it  were,  three 


WHERE  THE   SUGAR  CANE  GROWS 


333 


long  pipes  of  cane  running  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other. 
Each  piece  of  cane  has  joints  like  a  cornstalk,  and  at  each 
joint  there  is  a  little  eye,  much  like  that  of  a  potato.  The 
soil  is  thrown  over  the  furrows  to  cover  the  cane,  and  after 
a  short  time  each  of  these  little  eyes  bursts  out  into  a  sprout, 
which  makes  its  way  up  through  the  ground,  looking  just 
like  Indian  corn  when  it  first  comes  through  the  soil. 

The  cane  grows  rapidly.     It  is  plowed,  and  the  weeds  are 
kept  out.     By  August  the  plants  are  taller  than  a  man,  and 


West  Indians  cutting  sugar  cane. 

they  continue  to  grow  until  the  middle  of  October,  when 
they  are  ready  to  be  cut  for  sugar.  After  they  have  been 
cut  new  canes  will  sprout  up  from  the  stumps  and  give  a 
second  or  a  third  crop  ;  while  in  some  countries,  such  as 
Cuba,  the  stalks  will  sprout  again  and  again,  yielding 
sugar  for  fifteen  or  even  more  years. 


334  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

As  we  ride  onward  through  the  plantation,  we  can  see 
the  smoke  rising  from  the  great  sugar  mills,  scattered  here 
and  there  over  the  landscape  ;  and  we  now  and  then  pass  an 
estate  where  they  are  loading  the  cane  upon  the  cars  which 
take  it  to  the  mills.  There  are  scores  of  men  and  women 
at  work.  Each  has  a  long  knife  like  a  corncutter  in  his 
hand,  and  this  flashes  in  the  sunlight,  as  he  chops  his  way 
through  the  green  wall.  The  cane  falls,  stalk  by  stalk,  as 
the  workers  move  onward.  The  men  seem  to  know  just 
how  many  strokes  to  use,  so  that  not  a  motion  is  wasted. 
They  cut  the  cane  close  to  the  ground,  for  the  most  juice 
is  found  near  the  bottom  of  the  stalk ;  and  strip  off  the 
tops  and  the  leaves,  from  which  very  little  sugar  can  be 
made.     The  cut  stalks  are  thrown  into  piles,  or  windrows, 


A  sugar  train  going  to  the  mill. 

where  they  are  gathered  up  by  those  carts  which  are  com- 
ing in  now,  and  are  taken  to  the  cars.  This  plantation  has 
many  miles  of  railroad  upon  it,  and  the  little  engines  puff 
and  blow,  as  they  pull  the  heavy  cane  to  the  mills. 

Our  next  experience  is  in  the  great  sugar  mills  them- 


WHERE  THE   SUGAR  CANE  GROWS 


335 


selves.  We  have  ridden  in  on  a  train  load  of  cane  and 
have  watched  the  men  throw  it  off  upon  a  moving  belt,  or 
roadway,  which  carries  it  to  the  top  of  the  great  building 
and  drops  it  down  upon  the  heavy  iron  rollers  which  squeeze 
the  juice  out.  These  rollers  are  so  arranged  that  the  pres- 
sure between  them  is  enormous.  Each  is  as  big  around  as 
a  hogshead  and  very  much  longer.      They  have  teeth  like 


Interior  of  a  crushing  mill. 


an  enormous  file,  which  catch  the  cane  and  crush  it,  while 
the  weight  makes  the  juice  flow  out  in  a  stream.  The 
crushed  cane  goes  from  one  series  of  rollers  to  another,  and 
at  the  end  it  is  as  dry  as  a  bone.  Indeed,  it  is  so  dry  that 
it  forms  excellent  fuel.  It  is  carried  by  a  moving  belt 
from  the  rollers  and  dropped  into  the  furnaces.  Here, 
as  fuel,  it  makes  the  steam  which  is  to  squeeze  the  juice 
from  the  stalks  yet  to  come. 

We  now  go  around  under  the  rollers  and  examine  the 


336  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE  WORLD   IS   FED 

juice.  It  is  pouring  down  from  the  squeezed  stalks  and 
flowing  off  in  a  trough  about  a  foot  wide.  It  has  bubbles 
on  top  and  looks  sloppy.  It  reminds  one  of  dishwater  and 
is  so  sweet  that  the  taste  sickens  us.  And  still  it  is  out  of 
this  dirty  water  that  the  pure  white  sugar  must  come.  The 
dirt  and  all  the  impurities  will,  however,  be  taken  out ;  and 
it  will  be  as  clear  as  crystal  before  it  is  boiled  down  into 
sugar. 

The  water  is  first  bleached  by  running  it  into  large  iron 
tanks  through  which  flow  streams  of  sulphur  gas.  This 
process  makes  it  bubble ;  and  a  yellow  foam  which  rises  to 
the  top  is  skimmed  off.  Lime  is  next  put  into  the  tank 
to  settle  the  dirt.  After  several  other  processes,  the  juice, 
which  has  been  skimmed  again  and  again,  is  ready  for 
boiling.  This  is  done  in  huge  copper  vats  heated  by  coils 
of  steam  pipes.  The  liquid  flows  from  one  vat  to  another, 
growing  clearer  and  clearer  and  thicker  and  thicker,  until 
it  finally  becomes  a  dense  mass  of  sugar  crystals  mixed 
with  molasses.  It  looks  now,  for  all  the  world,  like  brown 
mush. 

The  next  process  is  to  get  the  sugar  out  of  the  molasses. 
For  this  purpose  cylindrical  metal  vessels  are  used,  which 
have  walls  of  gauze  so  finely  made  that  the  molasses  will 
go  through  the  meshes,  but  the  sugar  crystals  will  remain 
inside.  In  each  vessel  there  is  a  shaft  which  is  moved 
round  by  machinery  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  or  more 
revolutions  a  minute.  This  throws  the  sirup  against  the 
walls  and  forces  it  through  the  meshes.  At  first  the  walls 
look  brown  ;  but  as  the  shaft  continues  to  turn,  more  and 
more  of  the  sirup  flies  out,  and  they  grow  paler  and  paler, 
until  nothing  but  sugar  is  left.      The  walls  now  look  as 


WHERE  THE   SUGAR  CANE  GROWS  337 

though  they  were  covered  with  snow ;  but  they  are  really 
coated  with  the  purest  white  sugar,  as  we  can  see 
when  the  shaft  stops  moving  and  the  sugar  is  scraped  off, 
to  be  carried  away  and  packed  up  for  the  market.  In 
many  mills  the  molasses  which  is  thus  thrown  out  is  boiled 
again  and  again  to  make  second  and  third  rate  sugars. 

Such  molasses  is  not  like  the  sirup  sold  for  table  use.- 
This  is  made  from  the  fine  juice  of  the  cane.  The  refuse 
molasses  is  so  cheap  that  it  does  not  pay  to  put  it  in  bar- 
rels, and  it  is  often  carried  to  the  markets  in  tank  cars  and 
sold  in  bulk  for  cattle  food  and  for  use  in  certain  manufac- 
tures. 

The  principal  sugar  cane  countries  of  the  world  are  Cuba 
and  Java,  each  yielding  a  million  or  so  tons  of  sugar  every 
year.  After  them  come  Hawaii,  Louisiana,  Brazil,  Peru, 
several  of  the  West  Indies,  Mauritius,  Queensland,  Argen- 
tine, and  the  Philippines.  The  product  from  the  several 
countries  varies  according  to  the  seasons,  but,  as  a  rule, 
Cuba  produces  far  more  cane  sugar  than  any  other  part 
of  the  world.  Sugar  cane  is  now  being  grown  in  nearly 
every  province  of  Cuba,  and  about  half  the  land  cultivated 
is  devoted  to  that  crop. 

In  many  of  these  countries  the  methods  of  raising  cane 
and  of  extracting  the  juice  are  much  more  rude  than  those 
we  have  seen.  A  large  part  of  our  Philippine  sugar  is 
ground  by  buffaloes  or  in  water  mills,  and  the  product 
goes  to  the  market  in  a  raw  or  brown  state,  so  that  it  must 
then  be  refined  and  turned  into  white  sugar  before  it  can  be 
sold.  Much  of  the  Cuban  product  is  sold  as  raw  sugar, 
and  this  is  also  the  case  in  others  of  the  great  sugar  cane 
lands. 

FOODS  —  22 


338  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


46.    BEET   SUGAR,   MAPLE    SUGAR,   AND 
HONEY 

WE  have  already  learned  that  in  some  years  the 
United  States  pays  out  more  money  for  sugar  than 
for  any  other  import.  In  1905  the  sum  thus  spent  was 
almost  one  hundred  million  dollars,  or  more  than  one  dol- 
lar for  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  our  country.  Is  it 
not  a  pity  that  we  do  not  raise  this  sugar  at  home  and 
thereby  keep  this  vast  sum  in  our  own  pockets? 

As  long  as  sugar  was  produced  from  cane  only,  such  a 
thing  was  impossible.  Cane  must  have  a  rich  moist  soil 
and  a  warm  climate.  It  thrives  best  in  the  tropics  and 
sub-tropics,  and  we  have  only  a  small  area  in  our  Southern 
States  where  it  can  be  profitably  grown.  There  are  some 
sugar  cane  plantations  in  Porto  Rico,  Hawaii,  and  the 
Philippines ;  but  they  are  far  away,  and  their  whole  prod- 
uct could  not  begin  to  satisfy  Uncle  Sam's  sweet  tooth. 
It  is  different  with  sugar  that  is  made  from  beets.  This 
vegetable  grows  best  in  the  North  Temperate  Zone;  and 
our  country  has  such  vast  areas  in  which  it  would  thrive 
that  many  people  believe  we  shall,  at  some  future  time, 
produce  all  the  sugar  we  use.  There  is  a  belt  of  beet 
sugar  land  about  two  hundred  miles  wide  which  extends 
from  Delaware  to  Massachusetts,  and  runs  irregularly 
across  the  United  States,  taking  in  lower  New  England 
and  parts  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Nebraska, 
and  North  and  South  Dakota,  and  extends  westward 
almost  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.     At  that  point  the  belt 


BEET  SUGAR,  MAPLE  SUGAR,  AND  HONEY      339 

drops  and  sweeps  over  a  great  part  of  Colorado,  New- 
Mexico,  and  Arizona ;  after  which  it  widens  and  moves 
northward,  including  all  of  California  and  the  most  of 
Utah,  Nevada,  Idaho,  Washington,  and  Oregon.  Sugar 
beets  can  be  grown  elsewhere  on  our  continent;  but  in 
this  belt  they  produce  so  abundantly  that,  if  the  plants 
were  set  out  over  even  a  small  part  of  it,  we  might  be  ex- 
porting sugar,  rather  than  importing  it. 

We  are  already  producing  several  hundred  million 
pounds  of  beet  sugar  every  year,  and  we  have  great  fac- 
tories where  the  juice  of  the  beets  is  made  into  sugar. 
There  are  large  tracts  in  Colorado,  Michigan,  California, 
Utah,  Nebraska,  and  Wisconsin  which  are  annually  planted 
in  sugar  beets;  and  our  beet  farms  are  rapidly  increasing 
in  number  and  in  size  in  many  other  parts  of  the  belt. 

There  is  no  difference  in  the  taste  of  beet  sugar  and  of 
cane  sugar;  one  is  every  bit  as  sweet  and  as  good  as 
the  other.  The  juice  of  each  plant  contains  similar  crys- 
tals, and  they  are  reduced  to  sugar  in  much  the  same 
way.  Of  the  twelve  million  tons  of  sugar  now  sold  in  the 
world's  markets,  about  seven  millions  come  from  beets  and 
five  millions  from  cane.  These  beets  are  grown  in  lands 
which  formerly  imported  cane  sugar,  and  most  abundantly 
in  Germany,  Russia,  Austria,  France,  Belgium,  and  Hol- 
land. Germany  produces  more  sugar  than  any  other 
country,  and  its  sugar  is  made  altogether  from  beets. 

The  sugar  beet  is  not  unlike  the  common  beet  of  our 
gardens.  It  is  usually  white,  and  the  best  varieties  contain 
a  great  deal  of  juice,  from  which  sugar  is  made.  In  rais- 
ing beets,  the  ground  must  first  be  deeply  plowed  and  well 
harrowed,  and  then  laid  off  in  rows  about  eighteen  inches 


340 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


apart.     The  beets  are  planted  from  the  seed,  and  some 
farmers  have  drills  which  drop  several  rows  at  one  time. 


Sugar  beets. 


When  the  plants  come  up,  they  are  thinned  out  so  that 
they  stand  six  or  eight  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  They  are 
well  cultivated  and  are  kept  free  from  weeds,  and  within 
about  five  months  after  planting  are  ready  to  be  made  into 
sugar.  Each  beet  should  then  be  about  eighteen  inches 
long,  four  or  five  inches  thick  at  the  top,  and  should  weigh 
a  pound  and  a  half.  If  the  beets  are  of  a  good  quality, 
they  should  contain  about  fifteen  per  cent  of  sugar,  so  that 
seven  or  eight  good-sized  ones  would  yield  one  pound. 
Good  land  will  often  produce  twelve  tons  of  beets  to  the 
acre,  and  these,  when  run  through  the  mill,  should  yield 
almost  two  tons  of  sugar. 


BELT   SU( JAR,  MAPLE   SUGAR,  AND    HONEY 


341 


In  preparing  the  beets  for  the  mill,  they  are  dug  up  and 
the  leaves  are  cut  off.      They  are  then   carried  by  little 


t  V  '  \  ta 

1 

Preparing  sugar  beets  for  the  mill. 


canals  into  washing  machines,  where,  by  revolving  brushes, 
every  particle  of  soil  and  dirt  is  removed.  After  this  they 
go  on  into  the  slicers,  to  be  cut  into  V-shaped  pieces  about 
the  length  and  thickness  of  a  slate  pencil,  called  cossettes. 
The  cossettes  are  dropped  into  the  large  iron  tanks  of  the 
diffusion  batteries,  which  are  so  arranged  that  the  beets 
move  about  through  them  from  one  tank  to  the  other. 
Each  tank  is  filled  with  warm  water,  and  the  machinery  is 
so  constructed  that  as  the  cossettes  pass  through  it,  a  part 
of  the  sugar  in  them  goes  out  into  the  water.  More  and 
more  is  extracted  in  each  tank  and  at  the  end  of  the  pro- 
cess almost  all  the  sugar  has  gone  into  the  water,  which  is 
now  a  dirty  liquid,  almost  as  black  as  ink.  The  refuse  or 
pulp  is  carried  off  by  machinery  into  vats  outside,  where  it 
is  used  for  feeding  stock. 


342  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

The  inky  liquid  contains  all  the  beet  juice,  and,  like  that 
of  the  cane,  it  must  be  purified  before  being  boiled  down 
to  sugar.  It  is  first  run  into  great  tanks,  kept  hot  by  steam 
pipes.  Lime  is  put  in  to  precipitate  the  dirt,  carbonic  acid 
is  introduced,  and  by  various  processes  the  water  is  made 
as  clear  as  crystal.  It  is  now  ready  for  boiling.  This  is 
done  in  great  tanks  filled  with  steam  pipes.  As  the  liquid 
passes  from  one  tank  to  the  other,  it  grows  thicker  and 
thicker,  turning  first  to  a  sirup  and  then  to  a  mixture  of 
sugar  and  molasses,  like  that  we  saw  in  our  sugar  cane  mill. 
The  molasses  is  removed  just  as  in  making  cane  sugar,  and 
at  the  end  we  have  the  sweet  white  grains  we  use  on  our 
tables. 

There  is  another  sugar  made  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
United  States  from  the  boiled-down  sap  of  the  maple  tree. 
The  amount  of  this  sugar  is  not  large,  in  comparison  with 
that  made  from  either  cane  or  beets,  being  all  together  about 
twenty-five  million  pounds  a  year.  More  of  this  is  pro- 
duced in  Vermont,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania  than  any- 
where else.  Ohio  makes  some  maple  molasses,  but  it  does 
not  compare  with  those  states  in  the  production  of  sugar. 

Our  cane  and  beet  sugars  are  harvested  in  the  fall ;  the 
maple  sugar  season  is  in  the  early  spring,  when  the  sap  be- 
gins to  flow.  At  this  time  the  sugar  farmers  bore  holes  in 
the  trees,  not  far  from  the  ground,  and  drive  little  spouts 
into  them.  In  a  short  while  the  clear  white  sugar  water 
flows  out,  drop  by  drop,  and  is  caught  in  little  buckets 
that  are  hung  on  the  spouts.  When  the  buckets  are  filled, 
which  is  perhaps  once  or  twice  a  day,  they  are  carried  to 
the  sugar-house,  and  the  contents  is  put  in  large  kettles  or 
vats  to  be  boiled. 


BEET   SUGAR,   MAPLE   SUGAR,  AND    HONEY 


343 


As  the  boiling  goes  on,  the  water  grows  thicker  and 
thicker.     It  turns  first  to  a  light  yellow,  then  darker ;  then 


Gathering  sap  in  a  maple  sugar  camp  in  Vermont. 


it  becomes  a  molasses,  and  finally,  a  thick  sirup.  It  is  now 
poured  off  into  molds  and  left  to  harden  into  sugar.  The 
molasses  for  table  use  is  taken  from  the  fire  at  an  earlier 
period  during  the  boiling  and  is  put  up  in  jugs  or  in 
bottles  to  be  shipped  to  the  markets. 

Maple  sugar  making  is  often  done  while  the  snow  is 
yet  deep  on  the  ground  ;  and  at  such  times  the  sugar  water 
may  be  carried  to  the  house  in  buckets,  by  men  or  boys 
upon  snowshoes,  or  in  great  tubs  or  barrels,  on  sleds 
drawn  by  horses. 

In  addition  to  our  sugars  from  the  juices  of  cane,  beets, 


344 


FOODS  :    OR  HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


and  trees,  we  have  myriads  of  honeybees,  which  rob  the 
flowers  for  our  tables.  We  eat  more  than  sixty  million 
pounds  of  honey  a  year  ;  and  we  have  several  million  peo- 
ple who  keep  bees  and  sell  honey  and  wax.  The  most  of 
our  honey  comes  from  the  North  Central  States,  although 
more  or  less  of  it  is  made  in  every  part  of  the  Union. 
Texas  produces  the  most ;  and  then  come  California,  New 
York,  Missouri,  and  Illinois,  each  of  which  yields  several 
million  pounds  per  annum. 

Honey  varies  in  quality  and  in  flavor,  according  to  the 
plants  from  which  it  is  taken.  That  from  buckwheat,  for 
instance,  is  dark  and  strong,  and  is  not  so  much  relished 
as  is  the  clear  white  honey  that  comes  from  sweet  clover. 

In  gathering  honey,  the  bee  puts  the  sweet  substance 
extracted  from  the  flowers  into  a  little  bag  it  has  inside 


Beehives  in  California. 


its  body.     The   nectar  changes  somewhat  on  the  way  to 
the  hive.     It   also   changes  inside  the  hive;  so  that  the 


SALT  345 

honey  we  eat  is  not  exactly  the  same  as  that  the  bees  suck 
from  the  flowers.  The  wax,  or  comb,  in  which  the  honey 
is  stored,  is  made  by  the  bees  from  the  honey  they  eat ; 
and  it  is  said  that  eighteen  or  twenty  pounds  of  honey  are 
required  to  make  one  pound  of  fine  white  comb.  For 
this  reason  many  bee  keepers  take  the  full  combs  from 
the  hive  and  put  them  into  machines  which  whirl  them 
about,  throwing  all  the  pure  honey  out  of  the  cells.  The 
combs  can  then  be  again  placed  in  the  hive  ;  and,  if  the 
season  is  good,  the  bees  will  rapidly  refill  them. 

Honey  is  sold  in  our  markets,  both  in  the  comb  and 
strained.  The  best  way  to  buy  it  is  in  the  comb  ;  for 
strained  or  extracted  honey  is  sometimes  adulterated  with 
cane  sugar  or  with  glucose. 

47.    SALT 

ALL  the  foods  we  have  so  far  examined  belong  to 
either  the  vegetable  or  the  animal  kingdom.  We  have 
one  food  which  belongs  to  the  mineral  kingdom.  This  is 
salt,  which  is  found  in  sea  water  and  salt  springs  and  in 
great  rocky  deposits,  down  under  the  ground.  Salt  is  so 
necessary  to  man  that  it  early  became  an  article  of  com- 
merce. It  formed  the  basis  of  the  prosperity  of  Venice, 
whose  people  evaporated  it  from  the  waters  about  the 
marshy  islands  upon  which  their  city  is  built.  It  is  men- 
tioned many  times  in  the  Bible,  and  it  was  used  by  the 
Egyptians,  Greeks,  and  Romans.  The  poet  Homer  re- 
ferred to  it  in  describing  the  repasts  of  his  heroes,  and 
the  soldiers  of  old  Rome  considered  it  an  important  part 


346  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 

of  their  rations.  Indeed,  the  word  "  salary  "  comes  from 
salt,  and  to-day  when  we  speak  of  a  boy  or  man  as  good 
for  nothing  we  say  he  is  not  worth  his  salt. 

Almost  every  nation  has  some  superstition  or  other 
connected  with  this  article.  The  Hungarian  peasants 
sprinkle  it  on  the  doorsteps  of  a  new  house  to  keep  out 
evil  spirits,  and  the  Austrians  say  that  a  few  grains  of  salt 
in  the  pan  will  keep  the  witches  from  souring  the  milk. 
The  Greeks  gave  a  present  of  salt  to  the  gods  at  each 
meal ;  and  the  Romans  considered  spilling  salt  very  un- 
lucky. It  is  a  Norwegian  saying  that  the  man  who  spills 
salt  will  have  to  shed  as  many  tears  as  will  dissolve  the 
amount  he  thus  wastes  ;  and  the  Russian  peasants  believe 
that  if  one  gives  salt  to  his  neighbor,  he  will  soon  quarrel 
with  him. 

Salt  is  so  common  with  us  that  we  can  hardly  realize  its 
value.  It  is  different  in  savage  countries,  where  it  is 
hard  to  get.  There  are  many  parts  of  Africa  where  it 
is  used  as  money,  as  it  is  also  in  Tibet  and  in  other  out- 
of-the-way  parts  of  Asia.  In  some  African  countries  the 
children  like  salt  better  than  sugar,  and  in  Abyssinia  men 
carry  about  little  sticks  of  rock  salt  and  suck  them,  as 
we  do  candy.  An  Abyssinian  man,  upon  meeting  a 
friend,  usually  offers  him  a  few  licks  from  his  salt  stick, 
just  as  the  American  offers  a  cigar,  or,  as  in  the  past,  a 
pinch  from  his  snuffbox. 

There  are  mines  of  salt  rock  in  the  Sahara  Desert,  some 
distance  above  Timbuktu,  where  the  salt  is  taken  out  in 
blocks  and  carried  on  camels  to  the  river  Niger,  to  be  sent 
to  all  parts  of  the  Sudan  ;  and  in  certain  other  parts  of 
Africa  where  almost  no  salt  exists,  it  is  said  that  the  butter- 


salt  347 

flies  and  insects  will  pass  by  molasses  and  sugar  and  light 
on  anything  of  a  saline  nature. 

The  salt  of  the  world  now  comes  from  three  sources  : 
from  the  oceans  and  salt  lakes,  from  mines,  and  from 
brine  springs.  For  a  long  time  almost  the  whole  product 
was  made  by  evaporating  the  waters  of  the  seas,  and  this 
is  done  to  a  large  extent  in  many  countries  to-day.  The 
oceans  contain  a  vast  deal  of  salt.  It  is  estimated  that 
there  is  about  a  half  ounce  of  salt  in  every  pound  of  sea 
water;  and  so  much  in  all  the  oceans  that  if  it  could  all  be 
extracted  and  spread  over  the  United  States  proper,  it 
would  cover  every  bit  of  the  country,  mountains,  valleys, 
and  plains  to  a  depth  of  more  than  two  miles,  and  still 
leave  enough  to  form  a  salt  bed  about  a  mile  deep  upon 
Samoa,  Hawaii,  Porto  Rico,  the  Philippines,  and  Alaska. 

Sea  salt  is  obtained  chiefly  in  those  parts  of  the  world 
where  the  hot  sun  quickly  evaporates  the  water,  —  for  in- 
stance, on  the  island  of  Madura,  in  the  East  Indies,  in  the 
Turks  and  Caicos  Islands  of  the  West  Indies,  on  some  of  the 
Chinese  coasts,  and  here  and  there  along  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean.  Sea  water  is  evaporated  in  large  .quanti- 
ties on  the  shores  of  San  Francisco  Bay.  It  is  conveyed 
into  great  reservoirs  which  are  so  arranged  that  as  the 
salt  water  strengthens  and  decreases  in  volume,  it  can  be 
drawn  off  from  one  reservoir  into  another.  When  the 
brine  reaches  the  right  density  it  is  let  out  into  basins  or 
pools  on  the  bottom  of  which  the  salt  is  deposited  in  crys- 
tals, and,  at  the  end  of  the  season,  the  salt  is  gathered  up 
and  dried  for  sale. 

Much  salt  is  secured  in  the  same  way  from  the  Great 
Salt  Lake.     The  water  is  pumped  into  reservoirs  in  the 


348 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


spring,  and  the  sun  is  allowed  to  beat  down  upon  it  all 
summer.     As  the  water  evaporates  and  the  brine  becomes 


Tne  salt  is  gathered  up  and  stacked  in  piles. 

stronger,  it  is  drawn  off  into  smaller  reservoirs,  more  brine 
being  put  in  from  time  to  time  during  the  summer.  The 
salt  gradually  crystallizes  on  the  bottom  of  the  reservoir, 
where  at  the  end  of  the  process  it  makes  a  thickness  of 
from  three  to  six  inches.  The  remaining  brine  is  then 
drawn  off,  and  the  salt  is  gathered  up  and  stacked  in  large 
piles  on  the  banks. 

Long  before  man  appeared  upon  this  earth,  there  were  seas 
where  the  dry  land  is  now.  After  a  time  the  water  evapo- 
rated and  left  salt  there.  Then  came  earthquakes  and  other 
convulsions  of  nature  which  covered  these  great  salt  beds 
with  layers  of  earth  ;  the  salt  hardened,  and  in  time  turned 
to  rock  salt.  Such  deposits  are  found  in  different  parts 
of  Europe  and  the  United  States.     One  of  the  largest  is 


salt  349 

at  Wieliczka,  near  Cracow  in  northern  Austria,  where  they 
have  been  mining  salt  for  seven  or  eight  hundred  years. 
The  deposit  there  is  more  than  twice  as  deep  as  the  Wash- 
ington Monument  is  high.  It  is  twenty  miles  wide  and  as 
long  as  the  distance  from  New  York  to  Pittsburg.  Miles 
of  galleries  have  been  dug  through  it ;  and  the  miners  have 
a  village  away  down  there  below  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
They  have  houses,  a  school,  stores,  and  even  a  church,  cut 
out  of  the  salt. 

There  are  other  mines  at  Salzburg,  on  the  borders  of 
Germany  and  Austria,  where  salt  was  mined  in  the  days 
of  the  Romans  and  where  vast  quantities  are  still  taken 
out.  I  once  visited  these  mines,  going  far  down  into  the 
earth  and  walking  for  miles  through  the  tunnels  cut  out  of 
the  salt  rock.  Now  and  then  I  came  into  a  chamber 
where  there  was  a  little  lake  walled  and  roofed  by  salt 
rock.  The  salt  was  melted  down  by  letting  in  water  and 
drawing  it  off  as  it  turned  into  brine.  After  this  the  brine 
was  run  through  pipes  to  the  outside  and  evaporated  by 
the  sun  or  by  artificial  heat,  in  enormous  tanks,  producing 
the  dry  salt  of  commerce. 

Other  large  salt  deposits  are  found  in  western  Germany, 
Russia,  Switzerland,  and  also  in  France,  Spain,  and  Great 
Britain. 

In  our  country  we  have  beds  of  rock  salt  in  New  York, 
Kansas,  Louisiana,  and  Michigan,  as  well  as  in  Ohio,  Vir- 
ginia, Pennsylvania,  and  Kentucky.  There  is,  in  New  York, 
far  below  the  surface  of  the  earth,  a  bed  of  salt  which  cov- 
ers several  thousand  square  miles,  and  another  in  Kansas, 
eight  hundred  feet  deep,  where  the  body  of  salt  is  three 
hundred  feet  thick.     The  salt  is  taken   from  the   Kansas 


350 


FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS  FED 


mines  by  a  shaft  which  has  tunnels  running  from  it  out 
through  the  salt  rock,  like  the  streets  of  a  city,  with  great 


Drilling  for  blast  in  a  Kansas  mine. 

chambers  cut  out  of  the  rock.  Here  the  salt  is  blasted 
down  by  dynamite  and  is  carried  on  tramways  to  the  shaft. 
After  it  reaches  the  surface,  it  is  crushed  and  screened 
by  machinery  and  then  deposited  in  large  bins,  from  which 
it  is  loaded  on  the  railroad  cars  for  the  markets. 

The  most  of  our  table  salt,  as  well  as  that  for  other  pur- 
poses, is  obtained  from  brine  that  is  pumped  out  of  these 
rock  deposits.  There  are  salt  springs  and  salt  wells  in  New 
York  and  in  Michigan  which  yield  thousands  of  barrels 
every  year.  In  some  of  the  New  York  salt  works  the 
brine  is  evaporated  in  great  vats  which  have  movable 
roofs,  so  that  they  can  be  taken  away  when  the  sun  shines 
and  put  back  when  it  rains.  The  brine  is  put  into  the  vats 
in  the  spring  or  early  summer  and  is  exposed  until  the  end 


SALT  351 

of  October.     As  the  hot  sun  pours  down  upon  it,  a  thin 
scum  forms.     This   grows   thicker   and   thicker,    until    it 


Salt  works  in  Syracuse,  N.Y. 

finally  sinks  to  the  bottom  in  salty  crystals,  to  be  replaced 
by  other  scum  as  the  summer  goes  on.  In  the  autumn 
the  salt  is  gathered  and  prepared  for  the  markets. 

We  make  all  together  more  than  twenty  million  barrels 
of  salt  in  one  year,  and  more  than  any  other  country. 
In  1900  our  production  was  almost  three  million  tons, 
while  the  United  Kingdom  produced  a  little  more 
than  two  millions,  Germany,  Russia,  France,  India,  and 
Austria  ranking  next  in  order.  Our  chief  salt  states 
are  New  York,  Michigan,  Kansas,  Louisiana,  Ohio,  and 
California. 


352  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


48.    SPICES   AND   OTHER   FLAVORING 
PLANTS 

THERE  are  certain  plants  which  are  used  to  give  an 
agreeable  taste  or  flavor  to  food.  Some,  like  pepper 
and  mustard,  are  of  a  biting,  pungent  nature,  and  are  relished 
with  meats  and  vegetables,  cooked  in  all  sorts  of  ways  ; 
others,  such  as  cloves,  cinnamon,  and  nutmegs,  are  ground 
to  powder  and  used  in  puddings  and  cakes ;  while  others, 
such  as  vanilla,  form  flavors  for  ices,  creams,  and  con- 
fections. Our  mustard  is  the  ground-up  seeds  of  the 
mustard  plant  of  Europe  and  America;  ginger  is  a  root 
that  grows  chiefly  in  the  West  Indies ;  and  pimento,  or  all- 
spice, comes  from  the  berry  of  an  evergreen  tree  which 
grows  at  its  best  in  Jamaica. 

Pepper  is  the  most  important  of  spices.  It  is  used  in 
every  civilized  and  semicivilized  part  of  the  world,  and, 
amongst  peoples  of  hot  climates,  it  seems  almost  indis- 
pensable to  existence.  This  spice  was  known  to  the  an- 
cients. The  Greeks  were  using  pepper  when  Alexander 
the  Great  conquered  the  then  known  world,  and  it  was 
so  costly  in  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages  that  men 
considered  a  few  pounds  of  it  a  princely  gift.  Most  of 
the  pepper  came  then,  as  now,  from  East  India,  Ma- 
laysia, and  other  islands  of  that  part  of  the  world.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  profitable  articles  of  commerce ;  and 
it  stimulated  the  desire  for  a  short  passage  to  India,  which 
Columbus  attempted  to  find  when  he  discovered  the  New 
World,  and  which  Bartholomeu  Dias  and  Vasco  da  Gama 
were  looking    for   when  they  made  their  way  about   the 


SPICES  AND   OTHER   FLAVORING   PLANTS  353 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  gave  us  our  first  knowledge  of 
the  extent  of  the  African  continent. 

It  was  largely  through  pepper  that  the  British  obtained 
possession  of  their  great  Indian  Empire.  In  the  days  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  the  Dutch  controlled  most  of  the  trade 
between  that  part  of  the  world  and  Europe,  and  one 
of  their  chief  imports  was  pepper,  which  was  selling  for 
about  seventy-five  cents  a  pound.  This  gave  a  large  profit 
to  the  Dutch  merchants ;  but,  as  they  had  the  whole  trade, 
they  thought  they  could  get  whatever  they  asked,  and  they 
doubled  the  price,  making  pepper  cost  about  a  dollar  and 
a  half  a  pound.  The  English  merchants  protested.  But 
the  Dutch  would  not  put  down  the  price  ;  and  so  an  English 
company  was  formed  in  Great  Britain  to  bring  pepper  and 
other  articles  from  India  to  England.  This  was  the  famous 
East  India  Company,  which  gradually  drove  the  Dutch 
out  of  Hindustan,  and  finally  gave  the  British  government 
possession  of  that  great  peninsula. 

Pepper  comes  from  the  berries  of  a  climbing  plant  with 
large  glossy  green  leaves,  which  grows  to  the  height  of 
twenty  feet  or  more,  but  which,  under  cultivation,  is  kept 
down  to  ten  or  twelve  feet.  It  is  set  out  from  both  seeds 
and  cuttings  and  is  usually  trained  upon  poles  or  upon 
small  trees.  The  vines  begin  to  bear  in  the  third  year 
after  they  are  planted,  and  from  that  time  they  will  each 
produce  annually  a  pound  and  a  half  or  two  pounds  of 
pepper,  for  fifteen  or  twenty  years.  Pepper  plants  must 
have  a  rich  soil  and  a  moist  climate,  and  must  be  kept 
clean  of  weeds.  They  are  set  out  at  about  twenty-five 
hundred  to  the  acre. 

The  berries  are  of  the  size  of  a  large  pea.    They  are  green 

FOODS  —  23 


354 


FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 


at  first,  then  red,  and  when  dead  ripe,  yellow  or  black.  They 
are  usually  picked  when  red  and  spread  out  in  the  sun  to  dry. 
After  a  while  they  turn  a  reddish  brown  or  black,  and  in 
this  shape  they  form  the  black  pepper  of  commerce.    White 


Gathering  pepper  in  Sumatra. 


pepper  is  the  seed  of  the  ripe  berries,  the  skin  and  pulp 
being  removed  by  rubbing  and  washing.  A  great  part  of 
the  pepper  is  carried  from  the  various  islands  adjacent  to 
Singapore,  and  thence  shipped  to  London  and  to  other 
markets. 

Nutmegs  and  cloves  require  much  the  same  climate  as 
pepper,  and  most  of  them  come  from  this  same  part  of  the 
world.  The  chief  nutmeg  island  is  Amboina,  which  lies  east 
of  the  Celebes  Islands,  and  not  far  west  of  New  Guinea. 
The  nutmeg  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree  that  resembles  our  pear 


SPICES   AND   OTHER    FLAVORING   PLANTS 


355 


tree.  It  has  a  bright  yellow  blossom,  and  the  nutmegs, 
as  they  hang  upon  it,  are  about  the  size  of  an  apricot; 
they  have  the  color  of  peaches  and  are  shaped  somewhat 
like  pears. 

Each  fruit  has  a  thick  pulp  which  splits  open,  as  it  ripens, 
showing  a  kernel  surrounded  by  a  network  of  crimson  mace 
within.  The  kernel  is  the  nutmeg  of  commerce,  and  the 
mace  is  also  a  spice.  In 
preparing  the  fruit  for  the 
market,  the  pulpy  outside 
is  thrown  away,  and  the 
nuts  are  dried  slowly  in 
ovens.  After  this  the 
mace  and  nutmegs  are 
packed  up  separately  for 
export. 

Nutmeg  trees  come 
from  the  seeds  of  the 
ripe  fruit.  They  are  set 
out  in  orchards  and  are 
carefully  cultivated.  They  begin  to  bear  fruit  at  about 
ten  years  of  age  and  continue  to  produce  several  pounds 
every  year  for  a  long  time.  They  are  grown  also  in  the 
West  Indies  and  in  Brazil. 

Cloves  are  the  dried  blossoms  of  a  beautiful  evergreen 
tree  which  grows  to  a  height  of  thirty  or  forty  feet.  The 
blossoms  are  red  when  they  are  picked,  but  they  turn  black 
or  brown  through  smoking  over  a  slow  wood  fire.  This 
dries  them  and  fits  them  for  the  market.  They  are  then 
packed  up  in  bales  or  in  boxes  and  shipped  all  over  the 
world,  to  be  used  in  pickles  and  in  other  relishes.    Zanzibar 


Nutmegs. 


356  FOODS  :    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

produces  four  fifths  of  all  the  cloves  used  by  man,  its 
exports  amounting  to  millions  of  pounds  every  year. 

Clove  trees  are  set  out  in  orchards  and  are  carefully  cul- 
tivated. They  begin  to  blossom  about  six  years  after 
planting,  and  continue  to  yield  for  a  great  many  years. 
A  good  tree  should  produce  annually  about  six  pounds. 

Cinnamon  is  the  dried  bark  of  a  tree  which  originally 
came  from  Ceylon,  but  which  is  now  grown  in  Brazil, 
Egypt,  Java,  the  West  Indies,  and  in  the  Philippines.  The 
cinnamon  tree  reaches  a  height  of  thirty  feet,  and  its 
trunk  is  often  a  foot  or  more  thick.  The  cultivated  trees 
are  trimmed  so  that  each  has  four  or  five  stems,  which,  in 
about  two  years,  grow  to  the  height  of  eight  or  ten  feet. 
At  this  time  each  stem  is  about  two  inches  thick  at  the 
bottom  and  is  ready  for  harvest.  It  is  first  stripped  of 
the  leaves  and  twigs,  which  are  dried  and  sold  as  cinnamon 
chips,  and  then  of  the  bark,  which  is  carefully  scraped  and 
dried.  As  the  bark  dries,  it  curls  up  into  rolls,  or  quills, 
the  smaller  rolls  being  fitted  into  the  larger  ones  while 
drying.  The  bark  is  tied  up  in  bundles  for  shipment.  It 
is  sold  in  the  quills,  and  also  in  a  powder  for  cakes,  pud- 
dings, and  pickles,  and  as  an  oil  for  medicines. 

Most  boys  and  girls  like  gingerbread,  and  a  fresh  crisp 
gingersnap  is  not  bad,  I  can  assure  you.  The  spice  used 
to  make  these  cakes  comes  from  a  plant  which  grows  wild 
in  many  tropical  countries,  and  is  largely  cultivated  in 
parts  of  Asia,  Africa,,, South  America,  and  the  West  Indies. 
One  of  the  best  places  for  it  is  Jamaica,  which  furnishes 
a  great  part  of  the  world's  product. 

The  part  of  the  plant  from  which  the  spice  is  made  is 
the  rhizome,  which  is  a  stem  that  grows  under  the  ground 


SPICES  AND   OTHER   FLAVORING   PLANTS 


357 


and  looks  like  a  root.  Ginger  is  planted  by  setting  out 
pieces  of  this  root-like  stem  in  the  spring.  Each  sprouts 
and  throws  out  more  rhizomes  during  the  summer,  while 
a  plant,  at  the  same  time,  grows  up  to  the  height  of  three 
feet  or  more,  and  then  dies  down  and  withers.  When 
the  plant  is  dead  its  rhizomes  are  full-grown  and  are 
ready  for  ginger.*  They  are  then  dug  up,  cleaned,  and 
scalded  with  boiling  water.  After  this  they  are  spread  out 
in  the  sun  to  dry,  when 
they  are  ready  for  sale. 
An  extract  from  them  is 
used  for  medicine  and  in 
ginger  beer,  and  they 
are  eaten  also  as  candy 
and  in  puddings  and 
pickles. 

Vanilla,  which  we  use 
for  flavoring  cakes  and 
confectionery,  comes  from 
the  pod,  or  bean,  of  a 
vine  which  grows  wild  in 
the  hot  regions  of  eastern 
Mexico  and  in  parts  of 
South  America,  and  which 
is  now  cultivated  there 
and  also  in  the  West  In- 
dies and  in  other  tropical 

islands.  The  vine  is  of  a  light  green  color,  with  a  smooth 
waxy  bark.  It  has  narrow  green  leaves  and  a  long  fleshy 
fruitlike  pod,  from  which  the  extract  is  made. 

In  Mexico  vanilla  plants  are  set  out  from  shoots  about 


Vanilla  blossoms. 


358  FOODS:    OR   HOW  THE   WORLD   IS   FED 

a  yard  long,  a  portion  of  the  shoot  being  under  the  ground. 
They  are  given  a  rich  soil  and  are  usually  planted  at 
the  roots  of  small  trees,  up  which  they  climb  as  they  grow. 
After  this  the  ground  is  kept  free  from  weeds,  and  the  trees 
are  sometimes  topped,  to  prevent  the  plants  growing  too 
high.  At  the  end  of  three  years  the  vanilla  vines  begin  to 
yield  fragrant  little  white  blossoms,  and  after  the  blossoms 
fall,  pods  spring  forth  and  grow  until  they  are  about  as 
large  as  a  good-sized  banana.  They  are  gathered  before 
they  are  fully  ripe  and  are  dried  in  the  sheds  and 
"  sweated,"  to  develop  and  fix  the  aroma.  After  this  the 
pods  are  shipped  to  the  markets,  where  they  are  made  into 
the  vanilla  extract  that  is  sold  in  our  stores. 


INDEX 


Alaska,  Purchase  of,  163. 

Almonds,  290. 

Appert,  Nicholas,  201. 

Apples,  229  ;  Care  of  orchards,  234  ; 
Europe,  231  ;  Markets,  236  ;  New 
Zealand,  231  ;  Packing,  235  ;  Pick- 
ing, 235  ;  Tasmania,  231  ;  Trees, 
how  budded,  233  ;  United  States, 
229,  231. 

Appleseed,  Johnny,  231. 

Apricots,  243. 

Armadillo,  191. 

Arrowroot,  217. 

Asparagus,  211. 


Bamboo,  220. 
Bananas,  271,  273. 
Barley,  66,  68. 
Bates,  Henry  W.,  193. 
Beans,  208. 
Bear,  145. 
Beche  de  mer,  186. 
Beets,  no. 
Berries,  255. 
Betel  nuts,  322. 
Betel  palm,  221. 
Bison,  139,  143. 
Blackberries,  256. 
Bobolinks,  153. 
Bobwhites,  153. 
Brazil  nuts,  294. 
Bread,  12. 
Breadfruit,  287. 
Broom  corn,  72. 
Buckwheat,  70. 
Burbank,  Luther,  206. 
Butter,    107,    114;      Australia, 
Europe,    118;    How    made, 


120 
116 


New  Zealand,  120 
114,  116. 


United  States, 


Cabbage,  209. 

Cacao,  317. 

Cantaloupes,  213. 

Caribou,  139. 

Carnauba  palm,  221. 

Carrots,  211. 

Castor  oil,  280. 

Catlin,  George,  144. 

Cattle,  73  ;  Argentina,  8^  ;  Australia, 
83  ;  Branding,  77  ;  Brazil,  83  ; 
Breeds  of,  82  ;  Canada,  83  ;  Chile, 
83  ;  Cold  storage,  87  ;  Cowboys, 
75  ;  Exports,  83  ;  How  killed,  90 ; 
How  shipped,  82  ;  Meat  packing, 
85  ;  New  Zealand,  83  ;  Peru,  83  ; 
Ranch,  75,  79  ;  Round-up,  76 ; 
Selling,  89  ;  Stock  yards,  84  ;  United 
States,  73,  79,  83. 

Caviar,  189. 

Celery,  212. 

Ceres,  12. 

Cheese,  107, 114  ;  Edam,  122  ;  Gouda, 
122  ;  Gruyere,  122  ;  How  made, 
116;  Parmesan,  123;  Roquefort, 
123. 

Cherries,  244. 

Chestnuts,  293. 

Chickens,  128. 

Chocolate,  317. 

Chuno,  208. 

Cinnamon,  356. 

Citrus  fruits,  260. 

Clams,  181,  183. 

Cloves,  355. 

Coca  plant,  322. 

359 


36o 


INDEX 


Cocoa,  321. 

Cocoanuts,  294. 

Coffee,  297;  Java,  306  ;  Philippines, 
307  ;  Picking,  302  ;  Plantation, 
300 ;  Porto  Rico,  308 ;  Product, 
299  ;  South  America,  300  ;  Varie- 
ties, 305  ;   Where  grown,  299. 

Commerce,  7,  11,  215. 

Cooking,  History  of,  8. 

Copra,  296. 

Cormorants,  185. 

Corn,  44  ;  Africa,  48  ;  Amount  raised, 
45 ;  Asia,  48  ;  Australia,  48  ;  Can- 
ada, 48  ;  Europe,  48  ;  Fodder,  54  ; 
Harvest,  49  ;  Mexico,  48  ;  Seed, 
51  ;  South  America,  48  ;  Sweet 
com,  55  ;    United  States,  44,  48. 

Cottonseed  oil,  278. 

Crabs,  179,  183. 

Cranberries,  257. 

Currants,  256. 

Daggett,  Ezra,  202. 

Date  palm,  281,  284. 

Dates,  281  ;    How  raised,  283  ;    Uses 

of,   284  ;     Varieties,  284  ;     Where 

grown,  281. 
Deer,  140. 
Doum  palm,  221. 
Ducks,  126,  130,  134  ;   Wild,  150. 
Durian,  288. 
Durra,  71. 

Eggs,  127,  134,  136. 

Elderberries,  257. 
Elephants,  146. 
Elk,  141. 

Figs,  281,  285. 

Filberts,  294. 

Fish,  153  ;  Baltic  Sea,  189  ;  Blue- 
fish,  162;  Bonito,  183;  China, 
184;  Cod,  156;  Eggs,  156  ;  Grand 
Banks,  157;  Halibut,  161;  Herring, 
162  ;  Japan,  182  ;   Mackerel,  161  ; 


North  Sea,  189  ;  Philippines,  187  ; 
Russia,  189 ;  Salmon,  163  ;  Sar- 
dines, 162,  183  ;  Sea  bass,  162  ; 
Shad,  162  ;  Sheepshead,  162  ; 
Smelts,  162  ;  Sturgeon,  189  ;  Tai, 
183  ;  Tautogs,  162;  United  States, 
153,  162. 

54- 


Fishermen, 
Flour,  37. 
Frogs,  191, 
Fruit,  225  ; 
Australia 


[95- 


Africa,  226  ;    Asia,  227  ; 

226  ;       Europe,     226  ; 

General  view,  225  ;   South  America, 

227  ;    United  States,   228  ;    Value 

of,  229. 

Geese,  126,  130  ;   Wild,  130,  150. 

Ginger,  356- 

Gingerbread  tree,  221. 

Giraffe,  147. 

Goat's  milk,  107. 

Gooseberries,  256. 

Grapes,  248  ;  Africa,  248  ;  Asia,  248  ; 
Europe,  248  ;  Malaga,  254  ;  Raisins, 
25 1  ;  White  Muscat,  252  ;  United 
States,  249. 

Guavas,  287. 

Guinea  corn,  71. 

Guinea  fowl,  136. 

Hazelnuts,  294. 
Hickory  nuts,  293. 
Hippopotamuses,  145. 
Hogs,  92. 
Honey,  344. 
Huckleberries,  257. 

Jackfruit,  288. 
Jack  rabbits,  148. 

Kafir  corn,  72. 
Kola  nuts,  322. 

Lane,  Sir  Ralph,  85. 
Lemons,  261,  265. 


INDEX 


361 


Lettuce,  210. 
Limes,  267. 
Lizards,  19 1. 
Lobsters,  178. 

Mangoes,  287. 

Mangosteens,  289. 

Manioc,  217. 

Maple  sugar,  342. 

Milk,  107  ;  Asia,  125  ;  Ayrshire,  109  ; 
Babcock  test,  113;  Brown  Bessie, 
108;  Condensed,  117;  Cows,  107; 
Cream,  in  ;  Europe,  121  ;  Goat, 
107 ;  Guernsey,  109  ;  Holstein, 
109  ;  Jersey,  109  ;  Philippines,  125  ; 
Red  Polls,  109;  Separator,  112; 
Sheep,  124 ;  Shorthorns,  109  ; 
United  States,  108  ;  Water  buffalo, 
•125. 

Millet,  70. 

Molasses,  336. 

Moose,  141. 

Muskmelon,  213. 

Mustard,  352. 

Mutton,  98. 

Nipa  palm,  221. 
Nutmegs,  354. 
Nuts,  290. 

Oats,  66,  69. 

Oils,  274  ;    Castor,  280  ;    Cottonseed, 

278  ;   Olive,  277  ;   Sunflower  seed, 

279. 
Olives,  274. 
Onions,  210. 
Oranges,  260;  How  packed,  262;  How 

•picked,  261  ;  Where  grown,  261. 
Oysters,     171,    183;     Fishing,     172; 

Packing,  176. 

Papaya,  289. 
Partridges,  153. 

Peaches,  237  ;  Care  of  orchards,  240  ; 
China,  237  ;  Georgia  orchards,  240  ; 


New     England     schoolboy's     dis» 

covery,      238 ;       Varieties,      237  ; 

Where  grown,  237. 
Peanuts,  223. 
Pears,  243. 
Peas,  209. 
Pecans,  293. 
Pepper,  352. 
Persimmons,  289. 
Pigeons,  136. 
Pimento,  352. 
Pineapples,  267. 
Pistachio  nuts,  294. 
Plums,  245. 
Pomegranates,  290. 
Pomelos,  267. 
Popcorn,  55. 
Pork,   92  ;   Africa,  93  ;    Alaska,  93  ; 

Asia,   93  ;    Australia,   93  ;    Bacon, 

96  ;  Europe,  93  ;  Hams,  96  ;   Lard, 

97  ;  Philippines,  93  ;  Product,  93  ; 
Sausage,  97  ;  South  America,  93  ; 
United  States,  92,  94  ;   West  Indies, 

93- 

Potatoes,  203  ;  Andes  Mountains, 
207  ;  Bolivia,  207  ;  Burbank, 
Luther,  206  ;  Chuno,  208  ;  Irish, 
203  ;   Peru,  207  ;   Sweet,  208. 

Poultry,  126;  China,  133;  Java, 
133  ;  Philippines,  133  ;  Porto  Rico, 
132;  United  States,  127;  Prairie 
chickens,  152. 

Prunes,  246. 

Quinces,  244. 
Quinua,  70. 

Rabbits,  147. 

Radishes,  210, 

Raisins,  251. 

Raspberries,  256. 

Rhinoceroses,  145. 

Rice,    56 ;    Asia,    56 ;     Burma,    64 ; 

Central  America,  57  ;   Ceylon,  57  ; 

China,  57, 60  ;  Harvest,  61 ;  Hawaii, 


362 


INDEX 


57  ;  India,  56  ;  Japan,  57,  60  ; 
Java,  57,  60,  62  ;  Madagascar,  57  ; 
Mauritius,  57  ;  Mills,  62  ;  Philip- 
pines, 57  ;  South  America,  57  ; 
Sumatra,  57  ;  United  States,  58  ; 
West  Indies,  57. 
Rye,  66,  68. 

Sago  palm,  221. 

Salt,  345  ;  Evaporation,  350  ;  Sources 
of,  346. 

Sheep,  99  ;  Afrjca,  101  ;  Asia,  101  ; 
Australia,  101  ;  Europe,  101  ;  Milk, 
124  ;  Mutton,  how  shipped,  105  ; 
New  Zealand,  102  ;  Shepherds,  101  ; 
South  America,  101  ;  Stock  yards, 
104  ;  United  States,  99. 

Shrimps,  178,  183. 

Smith,  Thomas,  57. 

Snails,  191,  196. 

Sorghum,  72, 

Squirrels,  147,  149. 

Starch,  53. 

Strawberries,  256. 

Sugar,  328  ;  Beets,  338,  340  ;  Cane, 
329>  331  5  Cultivation,  331  ;  Man- 
ufacture, 334  ;  Maple,  342  ;  Mills, 
334  ;  Molasses,  336  ;  Where  grown, 

337»  339- 
Sunflower  seeds,  279. 

Tapioca,  217. 
Taro,  219. 


Tea,  308  ;  Brick,  315  ;  Ceylon,  311  ; 
China,  309  ;  Cultivation,  312  ;  Cur- 
ing* S1^  Importation,  316;  India, 
311;  Japan,  309;  Java,  311; 
United  States,  311  ;   Varieties,  315. 

Terrapin,  194. 

Tobacco,  323 ;  How  cured,  327 ; 
Where  grown,  324. 

Tomatoes,  213. 

Turkeys,  126,  130;   Wild,  150. 

Turnips,  211. 

Turtles,  191  ;   Oil,  193. 

Vanilla,  357. 

Vegetables,  197  ;  Canned,  201  ; 
Truck  farms,  198. 

Walnuts,  Black,  292  ;  English,  292  ; 
White,  292.  • 

Water  buffalo,  125. 

Watermelon,  213. 

Wheat,  12  ;  Africa,  28  ;  Asia,  29  ; 
Australia,  29  ;  Canada,  28  ;  Eleva- 
tors, 26  ;  Europe,  28,  30  ;  Flour, 
37  ;  Harvesting,  20  ;  Kernels,  41  ; 
Mills,  38,  41  ;  New  Zealand,  29  ; 
Producing  states,  14 ;  Red  River 
Valley,  17  ;  South  America,  28  ; 
Varieties,  15. 

Yerba  mate,  322. 

Zebra,  147. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 


HISTORY  AND  BIOGRAPHY 

^j  This  grading,  which  is  simply  suggestive,  represents  the 
earliest  years  in  which  these  books  can  be  read  to  advantage. 

YEAR 

5      Arnold's  Stories  of  Ancient  Peoples $0.50 

5      Baldwin's  Abraham  Lincoln 60 

5  Conquest  of  the  Old  Northwest 60 

5  Discovery  of  the  Old  Northwest 60 

4  Four  Great  Americans 50 

4     Beebe's  Four  American  Naval  Heroes 50 

4  Burton's  Four  American  Patriots 50 

5  Story  of  Lafayette 35 

6  Clarke's  Story  of  Caesar 45 

8     Cody's  Four  American  Poets 50 

8  Four  American  Writers 50 

3      Dutton's  Little  Stories  of  France 40 

2  Eggleston's  Stories  of  Great  Americans  for  Little  Americans      .        .40 

3  Stories  of  American  Life  and  Adventure 50 

5     Guerber's  Story  of  the  Thirteen  Colonies 65 

5  Story  of  the  Great  Republic 65 

5  Story  of  the  English 65 

6  Story  of  the  Greeks 60 

6  Story  of  the  Romans 60 

6  Story  of  the  Chosen  People .60 

3      Home  and  Scobey's  Stories  of  Great  Artists 40 

5     Kingsley's  Four  American  Explorers 50 

5  Story  of  Lewis  and  Clark 25 

5      Perry's  Four  American  Inventors 50 

5  Perry  and  Beebe's  Four  American  Pioneers 50 

6  Pitman's  Stories  of  Old  France 60 

3     Scobey  and  Home's  Stories  of  Great  Musicians 40 

3     Shaw's  Discoverers  and  Explorers 35 

7  Van  Bergen's  Story  of  China 60 

7  Story  of  Japan      .  65 

7  Story  of  Russia 65 

5     Wallach's  Historical  and  Biographical  Narratives 35 

5     Whitney  and  Perry's  Four  American  Indians '.50 

5     Winterbum's  Spanish  in  the  Southwest 55 


AMERICAN    BOOK     COMPANY 

C2Z) 


HISTORICAL     READERS 

By  H.  A.  GUERBER 


Story  of  the  Thirteen  Colonies #0.65 

Story  of  the  Great  Republic 65 

Story  of  the  English 65 

Story  of  the  Chosen  People 60 

Story  of  the  Greeks      .     .  60 

Story  of  the  Romans 60 


A  LTHOUGH  these  popular  books  are  intended  primarily 
./11  for  supplementary  reading,  they  will  be  found  quite  as 
valuable  in  adding  life  and  interest  to  the  formal  study 
of  history.  Beginning  with  the  fifth  school  year,  they  can  be 
used  with  profit  in  any  of  the  upper  grammar  grades. 
^|  In  these  volumes  the  history  of  some  of  the  world's  peoples 
has  taken  the  form  of  stories  in  which  the  principal  events  are 
centered  about  the  lives  of  great  men  of  all  times.  Through- 
out the  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  in  simple,  forceful  lan- 
guage an  authentic  account  of  famous  deeds,  and  to  present  a 
stirring  and  lifelike  picture  of  life  and  customs.  Strictly  mili- 
tary and  political  history  have  never  been  emphasized. 
^j  No  pains  has  been  spared  to  interest  boys  and  girls,  to 
impart  useful  information,  and  to  provide  valuable  lessons  of 
patriotism,  truthfulness,  courage,  patience,  honesty,  and  in- 
dustry, which  will  make  them  good  men  and  women.  Many 
incidents  and  anecdotes,  not  included  in  larger  works,  are 
interspersed  among  the  stories,  because  they  are  so  frequently 
used  in  art  and  literature  that  familiarity  with  them  is  in- 
dispensable. The  illustrations  are  unusually  good. 
^[  The  author's  Myths  of  Greece  and  Rome,  Myths  of 
Northern  Lands,  and  Legends  of  the  Middle  Ages,  each, 
price  $1.50,  present  a  fascinating  account  of  those  wonderful 
legends  and  tales  of  mythology  which  should  be  known  to 
everyone.   Seventh  and  eighth  year  pupils  will  delight  in  them. 


AMERICAN    BOOK     COMPANY 

08) 


CHOICE   LITERATURE 

By  SHERMAN  WILLIAMS,   Ph.D.,  New  York 
State  Institute  Conductor 


Book  One,  for  Primary  Grades $0.22 

Book  Two,  for  Primary  Grades 25 

Book  One,  for  Intermediate  Grades 28 

Book  Two,  for  Intermediate  Grades 35 

Book  One,  for  Grammar  Grades 40 

Book  Two,  for  Grammar  Grades 50 


ALTHOUGH   these    books   can    be    used    to    excellent 
L  advantage  in  teaching  children  how  to  read,  the  main 
purpose  of  the  series  is  to  teach  them  what  to  read; 
to  create  and  foster  a  taste  for  good  literature.    The  selections 
are  carefully  made  and  graded. 

^[  The  books  for  the  primary  grades  include  selections  from 
the  Mother  Goose  Melodies,  nursery  classics,  fairy  stories  from 
Hans  Christian  Andersen,  and  the  Grimm  brothers  5  ^Esop's 
Fables,  memory  gems,  children's  poems  by  such  waters  as 
Stevenson,  Alice  Cary,  Tennyson,  Lydia  Maria  Child, 
Cecilia  Thaxter,  and  a  few  prose  selections  among  which 
Ruskin's  King  of  the  Golden  River  is  given  complete. 
^[  In  the  books  for  intermediate  grades  the  reading  matter  is 
more  advanced.  Here  are  given  such  delightful  selections  as 
Aladdin,  Pandora,  The  Sunken  Treasure,  Wonder  Book, 
Tanglewood  Tales,  Rip  Van  Winkle,  The  Barefoot  Boy,  A 
Visit  from  St.  Nicholas,  Children  in  the  Wood,  The  Last  of 
the  Mohicans,  Tom  Brown's  School  Days,  etc. 
^[  The  volumes  for  the  grammar  grades  are  made  up  of 
the  best  English  and  American  literature.  Among  the  emi- 
nent writers  represented  are  Scott,  Dickens,  George  Eliot, 
Irving,  Addison,  Patrick  Henry,  Lamb,  Lincoln,  Webster, 
Bryant,  Burns,  Goldsmith,  Tennyson,  Newman,  Poe,  Shake- 
speare, Coleridge,  Gray,  Macaulay,  Holmes,  Longfellow, 
Lowell,  Milton,  Whittier,  and  Byron. 


AMERICAN    BOOK     COMPANY 


CARPENTER'S 
GEOGRAPHICAL    READERS 

By  FRANK  G.  CARPENTER 


North  America 
South  America 
Europe    .     .     . 
Asia  .     .     .     . 


$0.60 
.60 
.70 
.60 


Africa #0.60 

Australia,  Our  Colonies, 
and  Other  Islands  of 
the  Sea 60 


THE  purpose  of  Carpenter's  Geographical  Readers  is  to 
supplement  the  regular  text-books  on  the  subject,  giving 
life  and  interest  to  the  study.  In  this  way  they  accom- 
plish two  separate  purposes — they  afford  valuable  instruction 
in  geography,  and  provide  drill  in  reading. 
^[  The  books  are  intensely  absorbing — they  were  written  by 
Mr.  Carpenter  on  the  spots  described,  and  present  an  accurate 
pen-picture  of  places  and  people.  The  style  is  simple  and 
easy,  and  throughout  each  volume  there  runs  a  strong  personal 
note  which  makes  the  reader  feel  that  he  is  actually  seeing 
everything  with  his  own  eyes. 

^|  As  advocated  by  leading  educators,  attention  is  directed 
principally  to  the  various  peoples,  their  strange  customs  and 
ways  of  living,  and  to  some  extent  to  their  economic  condi- 
tion. At  the  same  time,  there  is  included  a  graphic  description 
of  the  curious  animals,  rare  birds,  wonderful  physical  features, 
natural  resources,  and  great  industries  of  each  country. 
^|  The  numerous  illustrations  and  maps  deserve  special  men- 
tion. The  illustrations  for  the  most  part  are  reproductions  of 
photographs  taken  by  the  author,  and  are  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  text.  The  maps  showing  the  route  taken  over  each 
continent  are  one  of  the  best  features  of  the  series. 
^[  The  publication  of  this  series  has  been  a  distinct  relief  to 
teachers.  No  longer  is  the  study  of  geography  dry  and  mean- 
ingless, no  longer  is  it  a  waste  of  time.  Since  the  appear- 
ance of  the  first  volume,  Carpenter's  Readers  have  met  with  an 
extraordinary  success  throughout  the  country. 


AMERICAN    BOOK     COMPANY 


(«5> 


STEPS   IN    ENGLISH 

By  A.  C.  McLEAN,  A.M.,  Principal  of  Luckey  School, 
Pittsburg;  THOMAS  C.  BLA1SDELL,  A.M.,  Pro- 
fessor of  English,  Fifth  Avenue  Normal  High  School, 
Pittsburg;  and  JOHN  MORROW,  Superintendent  of 
Schools,  Allegheny,  Pa. 


Book  One.     For  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  years $0.40 

Book  Two.    For  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  years 60 


THIS  series  presents  a  new  method  of  teaching  language 
which  is  in  marked  contrast  with  the  antiquated  systems 
in  vogue  a  generation  ago.      The  books  meet  modern 
conditions  in  every  respect,  and  teach  the  child  how  to  ex- 
press his  thoughts  in  language  rather  than  furnish  an  undue 
amount  of  grammar  and  rules. 

^[  From  the  start  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  base  the  work 
on  subjects  in  which  the  child  is  genuinely  interested.  Lessons 
in  writing  language  are  employed  simultaneously  with  those  in 
conversation,  while  picture- study,  the  study  of  literary  selec- 
tions, and  letter- writing  are  presented  at  frequent  intervals. 
The  lessons  are  of  a  proper  length,  well  arranged,  and  well 
graded.  The  books  mark  out  the  daily  work  for  the  teacher 
in  a  clearly  defined  manner  by  telling  him  what  to  do,  and 
when  to  do  it.  Many  unique  mechanical  devices,  e.  g.,  a 
labor-saving  method  of  correcting  papers,  a  graphic  system  of 
diagramming,  etc.,  form  a  valuable  feature  of  the  work. 
^[  These  books  are  unlike  any  other  series  now  on  the 
market.  They  do  not  shoot  over  the  heads  of  the  pupils, 
nor  do  they  show  a  marked  effort  in  writing  down  to 
the  supposed  level  of  young  minds.  They  do  not  contain 
too  much  technical  grammar,  nor  are  they  filled  with  what 
is  sentimental  and  meaningless.  No  exaggerated  attention  is 
given  to  analyzing  by  diagramming,  and  to  exceptions  to  ordi- 
nary rules,  which  have  proved  so  unsatisfactory. 


AMERICAN     BOOK     COMPANY 

r8o 


THE    GATEWAY     SERIES 

HENRY  VAN  DYKE,  General  Editor 


Shakespeare's  Merchant  of  Venice.     Felix  E.  Schelling,  University  of 

Pennsylvania.      #0.35. 
Shakespeare's  Julius  Caesar.     Hamilton  W.  Mabie,  "The  Outlook." 

#0.35. 
Shakespeare's  Macbeth.    T.  M.  Parrott,  Princeton  University.    $0.40. 
Milton's  Minor  Poems.     M.  A.  Jordan,  Smith  College.     $0.35. 
Addison's  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers.      C.  T.  Winchester,  Wes- 
ley an  University.      #0.40. 
Goldsmith's  Vicar  of  Wakefield.     James  A.  Tufts,   Phillips  Exeter 

Academy.     $0.45. 
Burke's    Speech     on     Conciliation.        William     MacDonald,    Brown 

University.     $0.35. 
Coleridge's    Ancient    Mariner.       George    E.    Woodberry,    Columbia 

University.     $0.30. 
Scott's  Ivanhoe.      Francis  H.  Stoddard,  New  York  University,  $0.50. 
Scott's    Lady    of  the  Lake.        R.    M.    Alden,     Leland    Stanford   Jr. 

University.      #0.40. 
Macaulay's   Milton.      Rev.    E.    L.     Gulick,    Lawrenceville    School. 

$0.35. 
Macaulay's  Addison.    Charles  F.  McClumpha,  University  of  Minnesota. 

#0.35. 
Macaulay's   Addison  and  Johnson.      In  one  volume  (McClumpha  and 

Clark).      $0.45. 
Macaulay's  Life  of  Johnson.     J.  S.  Clark,  Northwestern  University. 

#0.35. 
Carlyle's  Essay  on  Burns.      Edwin    Mims,    Trinity    College,    North 

Carolina.      $0.35. 
George    Eliot's    Silas     Marner.       W.    L.    Cross,    Yale    University. 

$0.40. 
Tennyson's  Princess.      K.  L.  Bates,  Wellesley  College.     $0.40. 
Tennyson's  Gareth  and  Lynette,   Lancelot  and   Elaine,  and  The 

Passing    of   Arthur.        Kenry    van    Dyke,    Princeton    University. 

$0.35. 
Emerson's  Essays.      Henry  van  Dyke,  Princeton  University.     $0.35. 
Franklin's    Autobiography.       Albert     Henry    Smyth,    Central    High 

School,  Philadelphia. 
Gaskell's    Cranford.      Charles    E.    Rhodes,    Lafayette    High    School, 

Buffalo.      $0.40. 


AMERICAN     BOOK    COMPANY 

(99) 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  PINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  TJHE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $i.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


■''■"■       7  I 


H  \93ft 


FEB 


FEfl     ■>•:  i- 


SEP  261940 


APR    25  1844 
JUN    17  1944 


NOV  IS  194R 


NOV  15  1948 


Mfrw  ' " 


a&A_ 


30»a^9Dg 


LD  21-100m-8,*34 


YC 


UJD 


/    165860 


"7-x  T"*-n.  II 


